Category: Features

Opening Night: Castle in the Sky (CFFS 2018)

Thursday, Jan 25, 2018 @ 7 PM

(Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, animation, 1986, 124 min, in English)
For ages 6+

Gala Opening Night, sponsored by The Boeing Company and co-presented with Seattle International Film Festival, at the Egyptian Theatre

Doors open at 6:30pm for red carpet photos! Come as your favorite character from a Miyazaki film, there will be a costume contest with special prizes!

From the legendary Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki comes a rollicking adventure about a young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant who falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island, the site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets. But greedy pirates, spies, and the army are also all in hot pursuit! As one of Studio Ghibli’s earliest films, and the first to be released officially under the studio’s banner, “Castle in the Sky” quickly established the studio’s reputation for strong heroines, unforgettable storytelling and beautiful artwork. The English-dubbed cast includes the vocal talents of Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Mandy Patinkin, Jim Cummings and more.

Please note that this special event is being held at the Egyptian Theater, 805 E. Pine Street

 

 

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5 Rupees (CFFS 2018)

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Sunday, Jan 28 @ 5 PM

(Piyush Panjuani, India, live action, 2017, 82 minutes, in Hindi with English subtitles)
For ages 8+

Co-presented with Tasveer South Asian Film Festival! North American premiere!

Hamid, age 7, lives with his grandmother in a small village, and although they are poor, they are rich in love for each other. And Hamid notices many other treasures around him — flowers, birds and trees that seem to sing and call to him. But the Eid festival approaches, Granny wants to reward Hamid with a gift of five rupees, and Hamid dreams of spending the money at the fair. Will this small dream of his come true, and if so, at what cost? This film is an emotive journey that hope, despair, and the happiness and magic that true innocence can bring.

Content advisory: Some bullying and a beating (not graphically depicted) of a wrongly-accused child.

Fanny’s Journey (CFFS 2018)

Saturday, Feb 3, 2018 @ 7 PM

(Lola Doillon, France/Belgium, live action, 2016, 94 min, in French and occasional German, with English subtitles)
For ages 10+

Co-presented with Seattle Jewish Film Festival, the Agence consulaire de France à Seattle and Alliance Française de Seattle! Seattle premiere!

Based on a true story, this film is an incredible tale of bravery, strength and survival, a story of a daring young girl who will stop at nothing and fear no one. In 1943, 13-year old Fanny and her younger sisters were sent from their home in France to an Italian foster home for Jewish children. When the Nazis arrive in Italy, their caretakers desperately organize the departure of the children to Switzerland. When they are suddenly left on their own, these 11 children do the impossible and reach the Swiss border to freedom.

Content advisory: War, weapons, danger, Nazis.

 

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Purple Dreams (CFFS 2018)

Sunday, Jan 28, 2018 @ 3 PM

(Joanne Hock, USA, live action, 2017, 72 minutes, in English)
For ages 10+

Producer Robin Grey in attendance! Seattle premiere!

“Purple Dreams” is the chronicle of a triumphant high school musical production that propels its cast and crew into a new world of opportunity and accomplishment. This inspirational documentary shadows six at-risk high school students on an emotionally powerful, three-year journey of transformation in a racially-biased city. With access to the arts and academic mentors, these youth find the means to overcome challenges including homelessness, gang-related violence and single-parent households. These teenagers are testament to a powerful truth: art saves lives.

Content advisory: Scenes and discussions about serious difficulties and life issues faced by the youth in the documentary, including homelessness, violence, poverty and the death of family members.

 

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Cloudboy (CFFS 2018)

Sat, Jan 27, 2018 @ 7 PM
Sat, Feb 3, 2018 @ 3 PM

(Mekeminne Clinckspoor, Sweden/Netherlands/Belgium/Norway, live action, 2017, 77 min, Dutch, Swedish and Sami with English subtitles)
For ages 9+

West Coast premiere!

Twelve-year-old city boy Niilas has been living with his father for as long as he can remember and barely knows his Swedish mother. This summer, Niilas has to travel to Lapland where his mother and her new family live amongst the Sami, an indigenous reindeer-herding people. Despite a warm welcome, Niilas retreats inwards. The only one who can get through to him is his half-sister Sunnà. The reindeer migration is fully underway and Niilas has to lend a helping hand. When a reindeer goes missing, Niilas joins in the search, and an impressive moose keeps crossing his path at the most unexpected moments. Gradually he discovers his roots, which prove to be stronger than he ever could have imagined.

Content advisory: deals with issues of divorce and attachment, scenes with animals being herded and sequences of slight danger.

 

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Not Without Us (CFFS 2018)

Saturday, Feb 3, 2018 @ 5 PM

(Sigrid Klausmann, Germany, live action, 2016, 85 min, multiple languages with english subtitles)
For ages 10+

Please visit Kids 4 Peace, who will have a table in the lobby for this screening! West Coast premiere!

Fourteen countries, sixteen children, five continents, one voice – however different their living environment, however different their personalities may be, the fears, hopes and dreams of the children in this documentary film will wake you, shake you and give you hope for the future. Regardless of whether they are growing up in peaceful societies or directly exposed to child labor, prostitution, war and violence, all these children long for peace, happiness, friendship and love. They are united in their rejection and fear of war and violence. And every single one of these children is worried about nature and the destruction of their direct and indirect habitat. Go global, and find hope for the future in the lives of real children all over the globe.

Content advisory: Examination of serious global issues, including child abuse, prostitution, trafficking, and child labor in this ultimately uplifting film.

 

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Wendy (CFFS 2018)

Saturday, Jan 27, 2018 @ 3 PM

(Dagmar Seume, Germany, live action, 2017, 87 min, German with English subtitles)
For ages 9+

Seattle premiere!

Wendy, a 12-year-old, is not thrilled when her parents decide to spend the whole summer vacation at the dilapidated equestrian farm owned by her grandmother. After a serious riding accident, Wendy, formerly a successful rider, never got back on a horse. But once arrived, she crosses ways with wounded horse Dixie, which escaped from butcher Röttgers. Dixie seems to seek Wendy’s company and follows her on every step. Between the two loners a friendship blooms that will change Wendy’s and Dixie’s  lives forever. Content advisory: Bullies use cruel words twice, a teenage boy gets drunk, and there are sequences of mild danger and a girl falling off a horse.

 

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Hero Steps (CFFS 2018)

Saturday, Jan 27, 2018 @ 5 PM

(Henry Rincón, Colombia, live action, 2016, 97 min, in Spanish with English subtitles)
For ages 9+

Co-presented with Seattle Latino Film Festival! West Coast premiere!

This feature debut from Colombian writer-director Henry Rincón centers on Eduardo, a ten-year-old boy who has more than his share of harrowing challenges: he is poor, a victim of Colombia’s armed conflict, and is missing a leg. Yet, with the help of his music teacher and some valiant friends, Eduardo is determined to follow through with his passion: to form a team with other disabled children, that will participate in a children’s soccer tournament.

Content advisory: boys fighting, mild bullying, a frank description of a life-changing injury, and a coach instructs his young players to cheat.

 

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Treasure (CFFS 2018)

Saturday, Feb 10, 2018 @ 1 PM

(María Novaro, Mexico, live action, 2017, 95 min, in Spanish with English subtitles)
For ages 8+

Co-presented with Seattle Latino Film Festival! Seattle premiere!

Seven-year-old Dylan, who has just moved to the Pacific coastal village of Barra de Potosí in Mexico, believes he can talk his new friends into finding a lost treasure left in a cave, 400 years ago, by British privateer Sir Francis Drake. Soon, a group of children embark on an enchanting voyage that ends with a discovery far more precious than a lost pirate’s treasure trove. An intimate glimpse into the lives of children living in a natural paradise, this film mixes documentary and narrative footage to capture the deep imagination and spirit of childhood.

Content advisory:  Mild scenes of danger might worry the most sensitive young viewers.

 

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The Legend of Timm Thaler (CFFS 2018)

Friday, Feb 2, 2018 @ 7 PM

(Andreas Dresen, Germany, live action, 2017, 102 min, in German with English subtitles)
For ages 7+

Co-presented with SAGA (Seattle Area German American School)! West Coast premiere!

Timm Thaler is poor, but he laughs a lot, and often. His laughter is so charming and contagious that a diabolical Baron wants, at all costs, to have it for himself. And so the world’s richest man makes the boy a dubious offer: if Timm agrees to sell him his laugh, he’ll win every bet he ever makes in the future. After hesitating at first, Timm signs the contract. But though he can now seemingly fulfill his every wish, without his laugh, he is a different person. Only Timm’s friends can save him now. Based on a the young adult fiction by James Krüss.

Content advisory: Scenes of slight danger and supernatural powers by Timm’s nemesis.