Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Oberhausen 2023 (Children and Youth Film Competition)
20-year-old Kamel and his friends have a plan: They want to make their city a place worth living in for everybody. But they are faced with the harshness of an adult world where good ideas are not enough to succeed. When they are dismissed as unimportant, they do not lose hope and are determined to fight for a better tomorrow. “A Glorious Day” depicts impressively an overtly relevant matter for children and youth in times of multiple crises: How to participate in society while being marginalized due to their age, their social background, or their lack of political experience? We see how family can both be helpful and destructive at the same time for young people trying to establish themselves – and how solidarity outfights personal needs. The well-executed script, the outstanding acting, and the ability of telling a universal yet complex story through a seemingly small event convinced the jury of this film as much as young Kamel is convinced of community organizing as means towards self-efficacy.