Miami International Children’s Film Festival
Friday, 10/17/2014 – 10/19/2014 04:00 pm –
Coral Gables Art Cinema
260 Aragon Ave.,
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Webpage Link
Cost: Opening Night $15 (Fri), $11.50 Sat & Sun, children up to 12yrs old $7

The biggest film event of the year for South Florida’s children and families is back. The second annual Miami International Children’s Film Festival, presented by the Coral Gables Art Cinema in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

The Miami International Children’s Film Festival aims to provide its audiences with global, multicultural and outstanding films – all of them area premieres.

Miami International Children’s Film Festival Schedule

Friday, October 17, 2014

• 4 p.m. – Kids Mix [just “Kids Mix”](Ages 3+)
Florida Premiere

A specially curated program for kids as young as 3 years old and up features 12 short and wonderful animations from around the world, including:

o “Snowflake” (Russia), in which a boy receives a paper snowflake in the mail and sticks it under his pillow, only to find his world has been transformed.

o “Hello World” (France), set in a collage forest crafted out of newspaper, plants, and paper maché, in which a newborn owl wakes up and explores the complicated world around him.

o “The Lovely Letter L” (U.S.), an infectious musical short about lemons, light bulbs, laundry and lots more.

o “The New Species” (Czech Republic), in which three friends discover a mysterious bone and set out to discover the creature it belonged to.
o “Big Block Sing-Song: Hair” (Canada), an electronic pop tune about the stuff that grows out of your head.
o “Monstersymfonie” (Germany), featuring a band of four monsters, one girl, and some very silly instruments who are definitely playing past their bedtime.

• 6:30 p.m. – Opening Night Reception and Film Screening

o 6:30 p.m. – Reception with food from Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Whole Food Market, and special drinks for kids and adults

o 7:30 p.m. – Film Screening: “Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants” (France, Ages 5+) with special presentation before the film from University of Miami Research Assistant Professor and “Bug Expert” Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy, whose area of expertise is the behavior of social insects.
Florida Premiere
o Humorously bug-eyed animated insects battle it out against lush live action backgrounds in this enormously inventive comic adventure from award-winning French animators. The unique combination of real life landscapes – a micro-world shot in extreme and stunning close-up – and wonderfully animated creepy-crawlies engaging in playful antics, will leave the viewer both dazzled and amused.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

• 10 a.m. – Film Screening: “Boy and the World” (Brazil, Ages 5+)
Florida Premiere

o Brazilian artist Alê Abreu brings to screen a strikingly unique visual style that shows the world through the eyes of Cuca, a young boy who lives a life of quiet wonder, exploring all that the countryside has to offer. His cozy world is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family.

• 11 a.m. – 3p.m. – Workshop I: Stop Motion Animation for Kids at Coral Gables Museum

o For ages 6 to 12, students will learn basic principles of stop-motion animation by looking at various examples of films made with the techniques and then create their own short films. The final product will be delivered in an electronic file to every student for them to keep and shared on the Gables Cinema website and social media platforms.

o $20 material and equipment fee

• 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Festival Fair in Cinema’s Perrin Plaza
o Featuring face painting, The Miami Balloon Guy, temporary tattoos, live music from Latin Grammy Nominee Rita Rosa Ruesga and more!
o Free

• 12:30 p.m. – Film Screening: “Party Mix” (Multiple countries, Ages 9+)
Florida Premiere
In this wonderful compilation of eight short films specially curated for Miami audiences, viewers will enjoy films from around the world including:
o “Rabbit and Deer” (Hungary), in which best friends Rabbit and Deer share everything, including a love of hot chocolate with marshmallows, but their friendship is challenged by the discovery of a third dimension.

o “Carpark” (U.K.) where a simple shopping trip goes horribly wrong.

o “The Big Beast” (France), in which a legend says that a huge beast will come to eat you when you least expect it.

o “The Princess, the Prince and the Green-Eyed Dragon” (Germany) featuring a selfish Prince and Princess and a helpful dragon, and in the end, they each get what they deserve.

o “Portlandia: Rat’s” (U.S.) the story of a trio of hipster rodents who are tired of the way rats are always getting slandered by humans.

• 2:15 p.m. – “Minuscule: valley of the Lost Ants” (France, Ages 5+), encore screening
o See Opening Night for full description.

• 4:30 p.m. – Film Screening: “Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe” (Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Ages 9+)
U.S. Premiere

o Selkirk, an unruly, selfish privateer, is the sailing master of the Esperanza, an English galley sailing the South Seas in search of treasures. In the absence of enemy boats, the privateers pass the time gambling and loafing off. Before long, Selkirk has squandered his current and future savings and alienated the entire crew, especially Captain Bullock, who decides to maroon him on an uninhabited island. The beautifully hand-crafted stop motion animation has a distinct feel that gives the film character. In an attempt to tell kids the “true story” of the famous castaway Robinson Crusoe, the film is a perfect blend of whimsy and action.
o Q&A with director Walter Tournier immediately following the premiere.

• 7 p.m. – Film Screening: “Starry Starry Night” (Taiwan, Ages 9+)
Florida Premiere

o Starry Starry Night is the imaginative, whimsical and emotionally resonant coming-of-age story of Mei, a day-dreamy seventh-grader whose life seems to be falling apart around her and Jay who avoids contact with his new schoolmates and becomes an instant target for their derision and taunting. Based on the graphic novel by Taiwanese writer Jimmy Liao, Starry Starry Night is a charming and honest portrayal of all the wonderful, life-changing, sometimes-painful events that can happen when you’re 13 and finding your place in the world.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

• 10 a.m. – Kids Mix: Shorts for Tots (Ages 3+), Encore screening

o See Friday for full description.

• 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Workshop II: Stop Motion Animation for teens at Coral Gables Museum

o For ages 13 to 18, students will learn basic principles of stop-motion animation with a focus on printed materials, watch short films with a variety of stop-motion techniques and then create their own content for short films. The final product will be delivered in an electronic file to every student for them to keep and shared on the Gables Cinema website and social media platforms.
o $20 material and equipment fee

• 11:30 a.m. – Film Screening: “Aunt Hilda!” (France, Ages 9+)
Florida Premiere

o Jacques-Remy Girerd, creator of “A Cat in Paris” and “Mia and the Migoo” returns to the Gables Cinema with his latest hand-drawn gem. Hilda lives high above the city, happily at home with tens of thousands of rare and luscious plants in her palace of a greenhouse. But down below, a new, genetically modified super-grain threatens to disrupt the delicate natural harmony. The film’s not-so-subtle eco-message builds to a suitably cataclysmic, technology-gone-haywire finale, as the destructive power of the Frankenplant is unleashed and Hilda must help the Earth save itself from a very colorful biological mayhem.

• 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Festival Fair in Cinema’s Perrin Plaza
o Featuring face painting, The Miami Balloon Guy, temporary tattoos, live music from Latin Grammy Nominee Rita Rosa Ruesga and treats
o Free

• 2 p.m. – Film Screening: “Nocturna” (France, Ages 5+)
Florida Premiere

o Visually stunning and wildly inventive, “Nocturna” explores the mystery of the night in a sweeping adventure full of Alice in Wonderland-like characters and moody, dream-inspired landscapes. After an unusual discovery on the rooftop of his orphanage, a young boy named Tim plunges into the secret world of Nocturna, a city inhabited by curious creatures who control the night. There are hairdressers who specialize in bed-heads, dream writers, and a vast herd of guardian cats led by the gigantic Cat Shepherd. Yet Nocturna is in danger: the stars in the sky are disappearing, kids are becoming restless at night, and a mysterious shadow creature is haunting the empty streets, extinguishing anything that gives off light. If Tim and the Cat Shepherd can’t set things right, nighttime will never be the same. In the end, Tim and the audience ultimately learn that the night doesn’t have to be so scary after all!
o Q&A with director Victor Maldonado immediately following the premiere.

• 4:30 p.m. – Film Screening: “Animation Celebration: John Hubley” (U.S., Ages 8+)
South Florida Premiere

o This program features films from legendary animators John and Faith Hubley who were ousted from the famed Disney animation team during a writer’s strike after working on films such as “Bambi,” “Dumbo” and “Pinocchio.” These new restorations on 35mm prints are a celebration of John Hubley’s 100th birthday and the inventive work the pair did after leaving Hollywood. The visually striking, playful and innovative short films address a wide range of topics – from the plight of the modern day farmer to two boys’ search for a pet bird – and feature the voices of jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, English actor Dudley Moore, and the Hubley’s children.

• 6:15 p.m. – Film Screening: “Mother, I Love You” (Latvia, Ages 9+)
Florida Premiere

o Winner of top prizes at the Berlin and Los Angeles Film Festivals, Janis Nords’ instantly engaging second feature combines coming-of-age drama with slow-burn thriller to tell the story of a boy who is unable to extricate himself from a growing web of lies. The film’s portrait of preteen rebelliousness has been compared to Truffaut’s iconic “The 400 Blows” and the Dardennes’ “The Kid with a Bike.” But no degree in cinema studies is required to enjoy this captivating and emotionally profound film. Film contains some mature subject matter.