First Snow Wins KIDS FIRST! Best of the Year Award

We are thrilled to announce that First Snow in the Woods: The Movie has won a KIDS FIRST! Best of the Year Award (For Independent Short, Ages 5 - 8) given to the best films of 2011 that "achieved the double goal of excellence in filmmaking and value in social messaging." We're happy the jury celebrated our mixture of crying scarecrows, singing chipmunks, sneaky mice, happy crows and good old-fashioned warm-by-the-fire storytelling.

KIDS FIRST! is the world’s largest film festival, run by the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, a national, nonprofit organization that evaluates, rates and endorses children's feature films, DVDs, videos, CDs, TV shows and interactive media. All films that screen at KIDS FIRST! film festivals are eligible for the KIDS FIRST! Best Awards. Entries are pared down to the top 300, from which the final winners are, ultimately, selected by their senior jury, comprised of child development specialists, media professionals and film programmers.

Other 2011 Best of the Year Winners include The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn by Paramount Home Entertainment (Best Feature, Ages 8 - 12), Glee, Season 2 (Best TV Series, Ages 12-18), Little Engine That Could by Universal Studios Home Entertainment (Best Feature, Ages 5 - 8) and Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Best Feature, Ages 5 - 12).

KIDS FIRST! uses volunteer, community-based juries comprising child development professionals, teachers, parents and children from diverse geographic, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds to evaluate programs.

KIDS FIRST! Film Festival showcases new and classic children's films. To meet the KIDS FIRST! criteria, a film must feature no gratuitous violence, no racial or cultural bias, no inappropriate sexual behavior, no replicable unsafe behavior and no condescension towards children. The Festival partners with more than 150 venues who host screenings year round to an audience of more than one million.

Founded in 1991, the Coalition’s mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children's media. KIDS FIRST! is supported by more than 17 million teachers, librarians, media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide. Support comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, REEL Fathers, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations.