Hardball wins International Kids Emmy award

Another win for ABC ME’s Hardball, now picking up an International Kids Emmy Award for the Northern Pictures series.

Libbie Doherty, ABC Head of Children’s Production, said Hardball’s Emmy Award recognized the world-class standard of Australian kids’ content. “Congratulations to Hardball creators Matt Zeremes and Guy Edmonds, executive producer Catherine Nebauer and series producer Joe Weatherstone for their outstanding win at the International Emmys. At the heart of Hardball is Australian creative excellence, which has again been recognised on the international stage.won the Live Action category, beating entries from Brazil, Netherlands and South Korea.

“The ABC is proud to be the home of Australian children’s content and to support Australian children’s producers to excel and inspire and entertain audiences around the world.”

Catherine Nebauer, Head of Kids & Scripted at Northern Pictures, said: “Right from the start when show creators Matt and Guy first pitched in the idea there was something unique that was appealing, and so it continued. Everyone responded immediately to this charming but heartfelt series from our wonderful partners at ABC ME, ACTF and our funding bodies, Screen Australia and Screen NSW, and the collective team that came together to bring Hardball to life.

“At a crucial point in the kids’ industry in Australia, this win further seeds that we as an industry produce exceptional stories that are uniquely Australian and which resonate with the global audience.”

In June, Hardball also won the Prix Jeunesse International Award for best fiction program for 7-10-year-olds and the Rockie Award for the Best Children & Youth Fiction Series at the Banff World Media Festival in Canada.

Winners in bold:

Kids: Animation
Ico Bit Zip—National Geographic/Copa Studio (Brazil)
Oddbods season three—One Animation (Singapore)
Moominvalley—Gutsy Animations (Finland)
The Tiger Who Came to Tea—Lupus Films (UK)

Kids: Factual & Entertainment
Opa Popa Dupa (pictured)—Nat Geo Kids/Estudios Telemexico (Mexico)
Världens Hemskaste Syukdomar—Delta Studios (Sweden)
Finding My Family: Holocaust-A Newsround Special—BBC Children’s In-House Productions/CBBC (UK)
My Notebooks – Seven Years of Tiny Great Adventures—NHK (Japan)

Kids: Live Action
Juacas season two—The Walt Disney Company Latin America/Cinefilm Brazil (Brazil)
Hardball—Northern Pictures (Australia)
Dropje—NTR Television/Submarine (Netherlands)
Extraordinary You—MBC (South Korea)