Ages 8+
In these live-action shorts from Europe, South America, India and the USA, you’ll meet kids who navigate all kinds of magical twists and turns in their lives. Time travel with two friends, meet a bike-riding girl who isn’t everything she appears to be and discover how friendships can build a bridge to understanding.
82 min.
Ages 8+
This imaginative collection of international films is meant to inspire the youngest generation to protect the planet and take good care of all the fabulous creatures who call it home. You’ll also meet brave kids who learn to fight, if necessary, in order to do what’s right for the earth.
61 min.
Ages 12+
These documentary and narrative films show fearless kids overcoming bias, bullying, poverty, living in wartime and other seemingly insurmountable challenges to stand strong and embrace their identities and life. Along the way, they have lessons for all of us. There is nothing that these young people can’t do.
83 min.
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.
Ages 11+
This program celebrates beautiful and complex stories of identity and diversity — just like you, the people you will meet in this program are one of kind, finding their way towards their authentic selves, rejecting stereotypes and reaching out to others who respect and affirm their journeys.
68 min.
* Co-presented with Three Dollar Bill Cinema! *
Content advisory: Animated characters in “Flash Flood” do not wear clothes, but their bodies do not signal any gender characteristics. In Little Heroes two Israeli boys discuss terrorism, in a simplistic way, through the lens of fear that they have learned. In Cat Days a doctor smokes. In Tough there is imagery of a gun while a daughter hears her mother’s memory of serving in an army.
(Lucas Hespenheide, US, 2017, animation, 1 min, English) Seattle premiere!
An introspective look at the differences between people, and learning to love who you are.
(Richard O’Connor, US, 2017, animation, 3 min, English)
9-year-old Aidan Sykes, of Jackson, Mississippi, asks his father, Albert, a few important questions.
(John Frickey, Japan & Germany, animation, 2018, 11 min, Japanese with English subtitles) Seattle premiere!
What happens when you are told you are cat, but you know you are really a boy?
(Ali MacKay, Canada & US, animation, 2107, 6 min, English)
Deep within an animated dream, three transgender people confront a cataclysmic flood.
(Sigrid Klausmann-Sittler, Germany, live action documentary, 2018, 15 min, Hebrew with English subtitles) North American premiere!
A boy in Israel loves ballet, and finds friends and family who support him.
(Marcy Lyn Frutchey, US, live action, 2017, 9 min, English) Seattle premiere!
A young, biracial girl sets out to discover what it means to be an “other.”
(Jennifer Zhang, UK, animation, 2016, 5 min, in Mandarin and English, with English subtitles)
A British-born daughter has grown mature enough to be more curious about her mother’s experiences in China, and understand how differently she grew up.
(Pooja Das Sarka, India, live action, 2017, 20 min, English and Hindi with English subtitles) Seattle premiere!
A teenager’s love of Bollywood musicals leads him to question why people believe there are certain things men and women should and shouldn’t do.
Age 8+
Here are stories of family bonds around the world, sometimes poignant and sometimes funny, showing the ever-shifting dance that brings us closer to the people who love us most.
75 min.
Content advisory: In To Remember Me By and Dear Henri young people find affirmative ways to hold onto the memories of family members who have died. The Rocket Ship deals very gently with the issue of a parent in emotional distress.
(Roberto Valle, Spain, animation, 2016, 1 min, Spanish with English subtitles) West Coast premiere!
Its 10 o’clock, dinner time in Spain. But the smallest member of the family is too busy running around to sit down at the table!
(Matthew Sandager, US, live-action, 2017, 13 min, English)
Nine-year-old Henri recently lost her beloved namesake and pen pal, Grandpa Henry. She misses him deeply – but then she thinks of a way to continue their correspondence.
(Richard O’Connor, US, 2017, animation, 3 min, English)
9-year-old Aidan Sykes, of Jackson, Mississippi, asks his father, Albert, a few important questions.
(Tisha Deb Pillai, Canada, animation, 2018, 6 min, English)
Lila, age 8, learns that she can ride a bike, and her parents can overcome their challenges too.
(Toril Kove, Canada, animation, 2017, 9 min, English)
In her latest animated short, Academy Award®-winning director Torill Kove explores the beauty and complexity of parental love, the bonds that we form over time, and the ways in which they stretch and shape us.
(Katarína Kerekesová, Slovakia/Poland, animation, 2017, 11 min, Slovak with English subtitles) US premiere!
Daddy, who is loved by is spider family, is no action hero, but he always saves the day.
(Taishon S. Black, US, live-action, 2018, 8 min, English, with some English sign language, subtitled) North American premiere!
A small girl sees her mother deal with sadness, and decides to create a special place where they can both be happy.
(Luz Rapoport, Argentina, live-action, 2017, 9 min, Spanish with English subtitles) North American premiere!
Lara and Lautaro are twins who would like their parents to pay more attention to them. They finally find a way to make it happen.
(Rahoul Daswani, India, live-action, 2018, 15 min, Hindi and English, with English subtitles) North American premiere!
A teenage boy sets out on a journey to salvage the truth of his family, jammed inside an old 8mm camera.
Priya Ramasubban, India, 2018, 1h 30m
Ages 9+
(live action, Ladakhi with English subtitles)
** Co-presented with Tasveer South Asian Film Festival! Introduced by Khenrab Palden, Himalayan filmmaker and Tasveer staff member **
To chase her dream of going to school, a feisty paraplegic girl rebels against the traditions of her family members and other elders in her remote Himalayan village. Her spirit and determination are infectious, but in a village that is paved only by rough stones, a school that can only be reached by a river crossing, and a family with little money, how can Chuskit’s dreams ever come true?
Tasveer South Asian Film Festival (TSAFF) is the largest South Asian film festival in the world. Seeking to provide a counterpoint to the images and stories prevalent in mainstream South Asia and Bollywood, the festival encourages an atmosphere of thoughtful dialogue and creative inquiry, where filmmakers and audiences engage in lively discussions, forums, and other collaborative interactive formats. The festival highlights films with a focus on issues of human rights and social justice that concern South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the various diasporas across the world.
(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.