The South African animated film The Smeds and the Smoos is counting down to the International Emmy Awards (iEmmys) ceremony in New York City, taking place on Monday, 20 November, after being nominated for Best Kids’ Animation.
Produced by Magic Light Pictures and narrated by Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), The Smeds and the Smoos tells the love story of aliens Bill and Janet. With their families at war, the two fall in love and run away together. Hotly pursued by their grandparents, Bill and Janet lead their families on a chase across space, allowing them to find out they have more in common than they think.
The film, which is currently streaming on Showmax, is co-directed by Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler, with Daniel’s wife, screenwriter Julia Smuts Louw, adapting the story written by Julia Donaldson’s bestselling children’s book of the same name.
Says Samantha, “I was so excited [about the nomination], I was jumping around my flat!” She continued, “It makes me overjoyed that all the beautiful hard work is being recognised. I hope that through an award like this, we can reach an even wider audience and bring them something heartwarming.”
Julia shares that such opportunities were never made available in the past. “I certainly never dreamed that something I worked on might be up for an International Emmy.”
Dan and Sam will not be attending the awards ceremony in New York, Instead, they will be in Japan to accept the NHK Japan Prize for Best Preschool Media. The Smeds and the Smoos has already won the Audience Award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival and the Rockie for Children’s Animation at BANFF.
Regarding other nominations, The Smeds and the Smoos has been nominated for Best Storytelling (Writing) at the Shanghai International TV Festival. On 27 November, they are also up for the Children and Youth Prize, competing against the pan-African anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire at the Rose d’Or Awards in London.
Watch the trailer for the International Emmy-nominated South African film The Smeds and the Smoos below.
Also see: Tyla and Musa Keys are South Africa’s youngest Grammy nominees
