Mibiya and his Cow wow Italy

In Italy, on Saturday night, the South African film, Mbiya and his Cow won four major awards at the Ciak Junior Competition. Peace Mnisi who plays the lead role of Mbiya was nominated as best actor. The awards are Grand Jury Prize for best film, Best film award voted by children, Best film award voted by television broadcasters and the Mayor of Treviso award for excellence.

Ciak Junior is an international competition that exposes children to hands on television productions.The competition gives children aged between 10 and 15 the chance to write a story about anything in any language. The winning story is made into a film that involves the writer from beginning to end.

Jacqui Hlongwane-Papo, project manager at SABC Education says, "We are delighted to be involved in this innovation of supporting young writers and future film makers. As a public broadcaster the SABC is so proud to be able to showcase our children's stories to the rest of the world."

Mbiya and his Cow is an intriguing drama that tells the story of a boy who is beaten up and his cow 'cow-jacked'. In the search for his cow the boy meets an old man and a tortoise who guide him through humiliation, fear, courage and death.