Tag: czech republic

Lift-off (Ages 9+ Short Film Program)

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Saturday, March 7 – 11:30am
On-Site at Northwest Film Forum
(1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122)

Sunday, March 8 – 1:00pm
Off-Site at Rainier Arts Center
(3515 S Alaska St., Seattle, WA 98118)

NOTE: For the March 8th screening of Lift-Off, audiences can purchase tickets for the SCREENING *ONLY*, or join us at 11:30am for BOTH THE BREAKFAST SMORGASBOARD AND SCREENING.

Ages 9+

These stories of adventure will take you to outer space and back, with films showing what it is like to be out on your own, in a world of wild adventure and imagination, making decisions and, ultimately, finding your way back home again.

78 min.

** On Sunday, March 8, join Children’s Film Festival Seattle off-site at Rainier Arts Center (3515 S. Alaska St.) for a full day of colorful Closing Day festivities! **

Celebrating the festival’s globally-minded programs in one of Seattle’s most diverse neighborhoods, the morning will kick off with your choice of “Om Nom Nom” or “Lift-off” – two programs that combine breakfast and a film screening – and then continue throughout the day with films for all ages, intergenerational hands-on workshops, and an awards ceremony!

Finally, the entire festival closes out with a live performance by youth from the School of Spectrum Dance Theater, who will choreograph a routine exclusively in response to the evening’s feature film, Moving Stories! Moving Stories follows youth from around the world to showcase the transformative power and universal language of dance.


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Conscious Cartoons for Radolescents (Ages 13+ Short Film Program)

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Friday, March 6 – 7:00pm

Ages 13+

These animated films — a “best of” compilation from the Conscious Cartoons International Animation Festival — aim to open eyes, hearts and minds through the transcendent medium of animation. This collection of 10 award-winning films from nine countries explores themes including climate, child abuse, gender equality and identity and the joys and sorrow of the human condition.

71 min.

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Caleidoscope (Ages 2+ Short Film Program)

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Sunday, March 1 – 11:00am

Ages 2+

These animated films are bursting with colors, textures, music and life. You’ll run through a rainbow with a pack of dogs, swim with tadpoles, fly with a flock of bright birds, race through a forest with critters of all kinds and even see the colorful insides of a dinosaur’s belly! Along the way, there are gentle lessons about how to stay true to yourself and your friends and embrace the ways you are special and different.

69 min.

** Filmmaker Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera, Producer Angela Maria Castro Revelo (“The Cubicbird”) in attendance! **

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Borders, Boundaries and Home (Shorts Program)

Saturday, January 26 – 5:30pm
Wednesday, January 30 – 3:30pm

Ages 13+

** Co-presented with CAIR-WA! Filmmaker (and Executive Director) Vivian Hua (Searching Skies) in attendance! **

All children have the right to a home, but for the young people in some of these narrative and documentary films, political and religious issues threaten their futures. The films are made by filmmakers in response to worldwide migration issues, and also include a documentary from a dream city, where origins and cultural differences do not matter to a tight-knit group of boys.

77 min.

Content advisory: This program explores tough issues, and stories that do not always have happy or clear endings. There is one mild swear word in Searching Skies, spoken in frustration by an uncle to his nephew who is showing a lack of compassion.

 

Short Films in this Program:

Malá

(Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Czech Republic, animation, 2017, 10 min, in Vietnamese & Czech with English subtitles) West Coast premiere!

A Vietnamese girl grows up in a European town. As she gets used to what it means to be strange and at home at the same time, her family inevitably heads towards a fatal decision. Who will leave and who will stay?

Trailer >

199 Little Heroes: Miral from Palestine

 

(Sigrid Klausmann-Sittler, Germany, live action, 2018, 14 min, Arabic with English subtitles) North American premiere!

Miral is an exuberant girl who has amazing athletic ability. Her life is beautiful and full, in spite of the walls that surround her.

Caracol Cruzando

 
 

(Pamela Chavez, US, animation, 2018, 16 min, Spanish with English subtitles) Seattle premiere!

A Costa Rican girl decides if she will bring her pet turtle across the US border.

Trailer >

 

Searching Skies

 

(Vivian Hua, US, live action, 2017, 9 min, English & Arabic)

When a Syrian refugee family is invited to a Christian family’s Christmas dinner, they are caught between opposing viewpoints for and against them, until an unexpected event suddenly occurs.

Harbourboyz

(Mirjam Marks, The Netherlands, live action, 2018, 15 min, Dutch with English subtitles) Seattle premiere!

For five 11-year-old friends, each with different origins (Turkish, Surinamese, Syrian, Chinese and Dutch), living in a working-class Dutch district, cultural and religious differences do not matter.

Trailer >

Bachir in Wonderland

 
 

(Els Duran & Evelien Vehof, The Netherlands, 2018, 15 min, Arabic & Spanish with English subtitles)

Bachir dreams of swimming in the sea, but he lives in a refugee camps in the middle of a desert. Despite having no passport, he is offered the chance of a lifetime: to go to a summer camp in Spain.

 

 

Don’t want to miss a single thing? Can’t blame you! Consider a Festival Pass —

Beyond the Rainbow (Shorts Program)

Saturday, February 2 – 5:30pm
Saturday, February 16 – 11:30am

(Feb. 9 screening has been rescheduled to Feb. 16 due to inclement weather)

Ages 7+

Enter a beautifully animated wonderland of timeless tales, fables and fantastic yarns. You’ll meet a kitten who masters the briny deep, creatures who live a world made of wool, two lemurs who take a voyage to the beyond, a jungle where animals and humans coexist in peace, a place in the woods where friendly monsters live, and a cyclist who keeps the world spinning round.

Content advisory: Fairy tales and fables sometimes explore fears and dangers, but all these films have happy endings! In Land Without Evil, a boy bleeds very briefly in a non-graphic way after being bitten by a non-graphic snake, then quickly heals completely. In Dark, Dark Woods, monsters seem a little scary for a few seconds but really, they are friendly. In The Theory of Sunset, the figure of Death makes an appearance in a non-frightening way. In Two Balloons, friends have an adventure that seems fraught with danger at times. Pepita and Max has content involving Christian mythology.

71 min.

 

 

Short Films in this Program:

Woolworld

(Joanna Polak, Poland, animation, 2018, 10 min, English) Washington State premiere!

Mr. Wooly likes is a world made of wool, and he is the only person who knows how to keep the place from unraveling. He is, however, old and tired and he wants his life to change. Unfortunately… his wish gets granted.

Trailer >

Out Fishing

(Uzi Geffenblad, Sweden, animation, 2018, 9 min, nonverbal) North American premiere!

A kitten is hungry, and can’t catch anything tasty when she goes out fishing. But in a moment of illumination, she finds a creative solution, and a helper.

Pepita & Max: An Alpine Blessing for Monsieur Raf

(Rahel Ilona Eisenring & Stephanie Knöbl, Switzerland, animation, 6 min, Swiss German with English subtitles) West Coast premiere!

When little Max loses his giraffe Monsier Raf, his smart cousin Pepita knows just how to help him with a marvelous alpine blessing, an ancient Swiss tradition.

Two Balloons

(Mark C. Smith, US, animation, 2017, 9 min, nonverbal)

Two travelers have an adventurous journey to a place crossed by stars and clouds where love is at the beginning of everything.

Trailer >

Land Without Evil

(Katalin Egely, Hungary & Argentina, animation, 2017, 4 min, nonverbal, with unsubtitled song in Guarani) Seattle premiere!

Based on Guaraní mythology, this film asks, what if the real paradise is inside us and lies in the harmony and unity of everything alive?

Trailer >

Little Red Riding Hood

(Martina Holcová, Czech Republic, animation, 2017, 4 min, English) North American premiere!

It’s a brave new world: Little Red and Grandma aren’t afraid of the wolf at all.

Trailer >

Dark, Dark Woods

(Emile Gignoux, Denmark, animation, 2017, 6 min, nonverbal)

Fed up by an endless routine of duties and lessons, princess Maria escapes to the dark, dark woods full of friendly monsters.

The Theory of Sunset

(Roman Sokolov, Russia, animation, 2017, 9 min, nonverbal) Seattle premiere!

Deep in the night, a dedicated cyclist traverses the wintry forest. The challenge: make sure the new day gets off to a fresh and timely start.

Trailer >

Perfectly Naughty Kids

(Tatiana Kiseleva, Russia, animation, 2018, 14 min, Russian with English subtitles) North American premiere!

A mischievous gnome helps save horribly obedient children from excessive mannerliness.

Trailer >

 

Don’t want to miss a single thing? Can’t blame you! Consider a Festival Pass —

Feathery and Furry Fun (Shorts Program)

Saturday, January 26 – 11:00am
Wednesday, January 30 – 10:30am

Ages 2+

Meet a menagerie full of new friends in this all-animated program, filled with creatures great and small. This program is filled with roly-poly adventures, vibrant colors, yummy treats and happy endings!

50 min.

 

Short Films in this Program:

Sheep

(Julia Ocker, Germany, animation, 2018, 4 min, nonverbal) North American premiere!

A little lamb hops from one adventure to the next. The flock would never take those chances!

Like an Elephant in a China Shop

(Louise Chevrier, Luka Fischer, Rodolphe Groshens, Marie Guillon, Estelle Martinez, Benoit Paillard & Lisa Rasasombat, France, animation, 2017, 5 min, nonverbal) Seattle premiere!

A shopkeeper becomes extremely nervous when an elephant shows up at his door.

The Box

(Eliott Belrose, Carole Favier, Loïcia Lagillier, Aloïs Mathé, Juliette Perrey & Joran Rivet, France, animation, 2017, 7 min, nonverbal) Seattle premiere!

An old man winds up taming a mouse, instead of trapping it.

Mogu and Perol

(Tsuneo Goda, Japan, animation, 2018, 9 min, Japanese with English subtitles)

Two forest creatures love to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. When they have a disagreement, it’s food that brings them back together again!

Funny Fish

(Krishna Chandran A. Nair, France & Switzerland, animation, 2017, 6 min, English) Seattle premiere!

In the middle of the ocean, a school of fish comes to the rescue of a funny red fish floating on the surface of the water.

Kippkopp in the Grass

(Szilvia Fabók & Tama Mikori, Hungary, animation, 2017, 7 min, Hungarian with English subtitles) North American premiere!

Kippkopp, a chestnut child, is walking in the meadow, looking for a playmate. Can he convince a ladybug to be his friend?

Trailer >

Coco’s Day

(Tatiana Moshkova, Russia, animation, 2017, 4 min, Russian with English subtitles) Seattle premiere!

Meet Coco, a little crocodile who hides from blizzards, explores underwater worlds and even turns into Godzilla – and all inside her own house!

Blueberry Hunt

(Alexandra Hetmerová Májová & Kateřina Karhánková, Czech Republic, animation, 2017, 6 min, English with French subtitles) US premiere!

Two hungry bears who set out to pick berries in the forest after they get a craving for blueberry dumplings.

Fly

(Julia Ocker, Germany, animation, 2018, 4 min, nonverbal) North American premiere!

Three frogs are fighting over a tasty fly. But there is something the fly can teach them.

Don’t want to miss a single thing? Can’t blame you! Consider a Festival Pass —

Invention for Destruction (CFFS 2018)

Friday, Jan 26, 2018 @ 7 PM

(Karel Zeman, Czech Republic, live action and animation, 1958, 81 min, in Czech with English subtitles)
For ages 8+

Preceded by a short film about the Karel Zeman Museum!

Inspired by the novels of Jules Verne, this rediscovered and newly restored gem by renowned Czech animator and designer, Karel Zeman, pays tribute to the films of Georges Méliès, and predates the steampunk craze by decades. Fantastical machines, a deadly submarine, and science put to nefarious ends all figure into the film, which seems, at times, ripped from today’s headlines.  A maniacal mogul kidnaps a brilliant but doddering scientist and tricks him into creating a weapon of mass destruction, while his enslaved assistant seeks a way to warn the world. Live action combines with innovative and quirky animated imagery based on Victorian steel engravings. Once seen, you’ll never forget this classic film!

“The digital restoration of the film “Invention for Destruction” is a part of the project “Restoring The World of Fantasy”. Project partners are The Czech Film Foundation, The Karel Zeman Museum and Czech Television in cooperation with Universal Production Partners with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and with support of The Minister of Culture of Czech Republic Mgr. Daniel Herman.”

Content advisory: Kidnapping, fighting and a futuristic story about a giant weapon, told with great imagination and artistry.

 

 

WATCH THE TRAILER: