The 30th Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and theater for the 2008 season, and took place on March 29, 2009, at Universal Studios' Globe Theatre in Universal City, California. Special guest performers for the ceremony that year included Russian musical artists, "Street Magic" and Las Vegas father and son acrobat team, "The Kalinins."
Established in 1978 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press Association member Maureen Dragone, the Young Artist Association was the first organization to establish an awards ceremony specifically set to recognize and award the contributions of performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television, theater and music.
Categories
★ Bold indicates the winner in each category.
Best Performance in a Feature Film
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
★ Nate Hartley - Drillbit Taylor - Paramount Pictures
Freddie Highmore - The Spiderwick Chronicles - Paramount Pictures
Josh Hutcherson - Journey to the Center of the Earth - Warner Brothers
Skandar Keynes - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Walt Disney Pictures
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress
★ Dakota Fanning - The Secret Life of Bees - Fox Searchlight
Abigail Breslin - Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - New Line Cinema
Madeline Carroll - Swing Vote - Walt Disney Pictures
Georgie Henley - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Walt Disney Pictures
Keke Palmer - The Longshots - MGM
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor
★ Brandon Soo Hoo - Tropic Thunder - DreamWorks SKG
Dylan Everett - The Devil’s Mercy - Peace Arch Entertainment
Colin Ford - Lake City - Screen Media Films
Nathan Gamble - Marley & Me - 20th Century Fox
Devon Gearhart - Funny Games - Warner Independent Pictures
Justin Jones - The Express: The Ernie Davis Story - Universal Pictures
Johntae Lipscomb - Bedtime Stories - Universal Pictures
Austin MacDonald - Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - New Line Cinema
Zach Mills - Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - New Line Cinema
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress
★ Christian Serratos - Twilight - Summit Entertainment
Madisen Beaty - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Warner Brothers
Sammi Hanratty - Hero Wanted - Sony Pictures Entertainment
Kali Majors - Baby Blues - Allumination Filmworks
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast
★ Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - New Line CinemaAbigail Breslin, Madison Davenport, Austin MacDonald, Zach Mills, Willow Smith and Max Thieriot The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Walt Disney Pictures Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell Drillbit Taylor - Paramount Pictures David Dorfman, Troy Gentile and Nate Hartley
Best Performance in an International Feature Film
Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Leading Young Performers
★ Brandon Walters (Australia) - Australia - 20th Century FoxHussein Al-Sous & Udey Al-Qiddissi (Jordan) - Captain Abu Raed - NeoClassics Asa Butterfield & Jack Scanlon (United Kingdom) - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Heyday Films/Miramax Films Kåre Hedebrant & Lina Leandersson (Sweden) - Let the Right One In - Magnet Releasing Robbie Kay (United Kingdom) - Fugitive Pieces - Samuel Goldwyn Films Guang Li (Australia) - The Children of Huang Shi - Sony Pictures Classics Bill Milner & Will Poulter (United Kingdom) - Son of Rambow - Paramount Vantage Kodi Smit-McPhee (Australia) - Romulus, My Father - Magnolia Pictures Xu Jiao (China) - CJ7 - Sony Pictures Classics