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Oscar® Winner, Best Short Film (Animated), 1979

Every Child

1979 6 min
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This animated short follows an unwanted baby who is passed from house to house until he is taken in and cared for by two homeless men. The film is the Canadian contribution to an hour-long feature film celebrating UNESCO's Year of the Child (1979). It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration of Children's Rights: every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. The film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.

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Every Child
  • Children First!
    Children First!
    1996 7 films
    Fifty years ago, a boat left New York with a cargo of powdered milk for the hungry children of post-war Europe. It was the first undertaking of the UN's International Children's Emergency Fund. Initially conceived as a short-term measure, UNICEF went on to become a leading world advocate for children's welfare and is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. Children First! showcases award-winning NFB shorts dealing with children's rights and the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child. Diane Chartrand's The Orange is a touching tale of how children help a hungry classmate. Janet Perlman's Dinner for Two is a light-hearted lesson in conflict resolution, and Eugene Fedorenko's Oscar-winning Every Child is an engaging reflection on every child's right to a name and nationality. Rounding out the selection are Michèle Cournoyer's An Artist a beautifully rendered story of a parent's awakening to his young daughter's potential abilities, and Martine Chartrand's TV Tango, a comic critique of mass media and its impact on children. Francine Desbiens's To See the World is a fitting tale of a boy who witnesses the suffering of the world's children through a train window, and envisions solutions which ensure happy, healthy children everywhere. Finally, a child's right to a future in which dreams may be fulfilled is examined in Why? by Brestislav Pojar.

Details

This animated short follows an unwanted baby who is passed from house to house until he is taken in and cared for by two homeless men. The film is the Canadian contribution to an hour-long feature film celebrating UNESCO's Year of the Child (1979). It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration of Children's Rights: every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. The film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.

  • director
    Eugene Fedorenko
  • animation
    Eugene Fedorenko
  • producer
    Derek Lamb
  • script
    Derek Lamb
    Patrice Arbour
    Bernard Carez
  • camera
    Robert Humble
    Richard Moras
    Jacques Avoine
  • sound
    Normand Roger
  • voice
    Les Mimes électriques
    Patrice Arbour
    Bernard Carez

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Education

Ages 12 to 17
School subjects
Begin by researching the Year of the Child and the Declaration of Children’s Rights. Identify Janusz Korczak and describe his role in establishing rights for all children. Examine the rights of children as established by various world agencies, beginning in 1924. Why are such safeguards necessary to protect children? Visit the following website: un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/plainchild.asp. Compose a personal response to what is written there.
Every Child
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Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

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The institutional price includes the rights to screen this film in institutional settings and in free public screenings.