mark c. smith – Children's Film Festival Seattle

Sunday, January 27 – 3:30pm
Wednesday, January 30 – 1:00pm

Ages 8+

These live-action and animation films cross continents, generations, and even species to tell stories of connection, adventure, new beginnings, and happy endings. Friendship truly does make the world go around.

Director Khenrab Palden (Lucy & Tenzin) in attendance with actors Bridget Donnelly and Tenzin Losei!

70 min.

Content advisory: In Two Balloons, a pair of friends experience danger mid-air, while flying in balloons, but there is a happy ending.

Short Films in this Program:

Two Balloons

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

Two travelers find and save each other in a place crossed by stars and clouds.

Trailer >

Sherbert Rozencrantz, You’re Beautiful

(Natalie van den Dungen, Australia, live action, 2018, 10 min, English)

Milly’s world revolves around her pet guinea pig, until her mother orchestrates an attempt to find her a “real” friend.

Trailer >

Gelato – Seven Summers of Ice Cream

(Daniela Opp, Germany, animation, 2017, 12 min, German with English subtitles) West coast premiere!

Almost 80 years separate Rosa and Molly, however a shared love for ice cream magically connects the two.

Trailer >

Noel

(Kike Arroyo, Spain, live action, 2018, 12 min, Spanish with English subtitles) North American premiere!

Noel, who is about to have his 8th birthday, dresses up in an obscure costume in the hope of finding a kindred spirit.

Trailer >

Spelliasmous

(Ben Garfield, Cuba/UK, live action, 2017, 4 min, Spanish with English subtitles) North American premiere!

Three friends reveal what the Harry Potter stories mean to then, transforming their sleepy Cuban town into a world of wizards, witches and monsters.

Avocado

(Jasmine Castaneda, US & Puerto Rico, live action, 2016, 12 min, Spanish with English subtitles) West coast premiere!

Andrés sells avocados around the neighborhood to save up money for a gift for a girl, but during his journey he learns that life takes unexpected turns.

Trailer >

Kitten Witch

(James Cunningham, New Zealand, live action & animation, 2016, 6 min, English) Northwest premiere!

A precocious kitten wants to be a witch’s helper, but first she must pass a test.

Trailer >

Lucy & Tenzin

(Khenrab Palden, US, live action, 2018, 6 min)

When Lucy arrives at her friend Tenzin’s house, she witnesses a most unique ritual in the Tibetan culture.

Pops & Branwell

(Aleks Sennwald & Pete Toms, US, animation, 2018, 8 min, English) World premiere!

Pops and Branwell, two kid detectives, suspect a traitor in their squad as they chase a soup-robbing thief.

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

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.