THE CHILDISH FILM FESTIVAL AT M-SPIFF APRIL 1-16, 2005
INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAMSGood things come in small packages. Three thematically curated shows of twenty-five international short titles for children.
- CATS AND DOGS, LIVING TOGETHER! [ Age 3+ ]
- REAL KIDS [ Age 5+ ]
- SO MANY QUESTIONS [ Age 7+ ]
(International Animated Shorts, 56 minutes) Recommended for age 3+
Sometimes there's a fine line between harmony and mayhem. A fun
collection of animated shorts demonstrates little creatures and little people working it out.
CREATURE COMFORTS: CATS OR DOGS?
(Richard Goleszowski, 2003, UK, Beta, 9 min.)
An Aardman (CHICKEN RUN, WALLACE AND GROMIT) short film featuring the age-old debate between cats and dogs.
(Siri Melchior, 2002, UK, Beta, 4 min.)
A Cubism-inspired dog who struggles with his “inner cat” on the streets of Paris, until he meets someone he can relate to.
(Robert Charde, 2004, USA, Beta, 2 min.)
A dog croons to his sweetheart, playing his banjo high in the stars.
(Santa Clara School Collective, 2003, Portugal, Beta, 7 min)
A cat promises to watch a seagull's egg and teach the baby seagull to fly. A very encouraging children's story, animated with Portuguese school children.
(Isabelle Favez, 2003, France/Canada, 35mm, 8 min.)
Set to gypsy music, this animation features a pirate and his pets who all want to eat each other. What to do?
(Andre Lieban and Andre Breitman, 2004, Brazil, Beta, 4 min.)
An Australian aboriginal story from the mythical Age of Dreams about Bora the kangaroo.
(SAF Cakovec Students, 2004, Croatia, Beta, 3 min.)
A hibernating bear is driven to distraction by a crazy pig, made at an award-winning student workshop program in Croatia.
(Dace Riduze, 2002, Latvia, 35mm, 12 min.)
Otis, a young firefly, is in trouble. He wants a girlfriend and he can’t get his light to shine as brightly as the others.
(Partel Tall, 2003, Estonia, 35mm, 7 min.)
A rabbit tries all winter to nab an innocent snowman’s carrot (his nose!).
(Dace Riduze, 2002, Latvia, 35mm, 7 min.)
Claymated cats drive an old man berserk.
(International Shorts, 62 minutes)Recommended for ages 5+
DIRECTOR EVA SAKS SCHEDULED TO ATTEND.
Real kids are the subjects of these fictional and non-fictional
films about ordinary kids living in familiar and far away places.
[Eva Saks biography]
(Eva Saks, 2005, USA, 16mm>DVD, 2 min.)
Two brothers call each other names, until they actually do “get each other’s goats”.
(Koyalee Chanda, 2003, USA, Beta SP, 6 min.)
How do you cure hiccups? A Chinese-American girl and her mother take advice from the colorful people of N.Y.C.
(Eva Saks, 2005, USA, 16mm>DVD, 4 min.)
Kylie Goldstein was born in China...now she’s part of an American family. This short and sweet doc is Kylie’s story.
(Eva Saks, 2003, USA, 35mm, 5 min.)
While considering a delicious strawberry tart, a young girl has an epiphany with an appreciative stranger.
(Bianca Aguerre, 2003, Mexico, 35mm, 10 min.)
A surprisingly playful story made in claymation by the children of migrant farm workers about their daily lives and dreams.
(Cassandre Hornez and Francois Lechauchois, France, Beta w/subtitles, 13 min.)
One of the universal rights of children is to play. Meet a group of Kosovo kids, and learn some of their school yard games.
(Michael Horsten, Denmark, 2004, Beta w/subtitles, 14 min.)
7 year-old Marie feels small when her father is too busy to play with her. She comes up with a trick that brings him down to size.
(Eva Saks, USA, 2003, 35mm, 8 min.)
The uptight parents of an extremely messy little girl enlist Grandfather to impose some discipline. Instead, he brings her on a delightful cross-cultural adventure that affirms her true nature.
(International Shorts, 68 minutes) Recommended for ages 7+
How long is infinity? How do you know when someone’s telling the truth?
The youngsters in these films face challenges, ask intelligent questions, experiment, and make interesting discoveries.
(AristoMenis Tsirbas, USA, 2002, Beta, 7 min.)
A CGI animation about an impish, gleeful little fellow who lands in the middle of a drone-like world to ask, “Qu’est-ce que c’est?”
(Dave Goldenberg, USA, 2002, Beta, 8 min.)
New Jersey kids try to settle a classroom dispute between a boy and their teacher by breaking into a full-fledged opera.
MBOUTOUKOU (Victor Viyuoh, Cameroon, 2002, Beta, 14 min.)
Napo's older brother is about to go away. He does a coming of age ritual and builds a termite mound. Can Napo follow in his shoes?
(Ouida Smit and Madoda Ncayiyana, 2002, South Africa, Beta, 11 min.)
A young girl in rural KwaZulu Natal struggles with a loss she can not understand. An act of friendship and a kite restore joy.
(Harry Wootliff, 2004, England, 35mm, 10 min.)
James’ parents are acting funny, meanwhile he’s got to deal with nits from school. Gradually James begins to comprehend a difficult family event.
(Morten H. Evelid, 2004, Norway, 35mm w/subtitles, 9 min.)
Tom’s a curly red head who wants to gel his hair to be cool at school. His mother concocts a secret solution that’s pretty sweet.
(Sara Johnsen, Norway, 2002, 35mm, 12 min.)
Fredrik’s cousin Klara challenges him to prove he can do a Houdini trick on an empty beach. How did he do it?
(Michele Lemieux, 2003, Canada, 35mm, 10 min.)
What if life is just a dream and dreams are what’s really real? A little girl’s late night philosophical musings end with a sunny day.