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Join us at the Providence Children’s Film Festival February 16-21, 2012

The only film festival in New England dedicated to children’s films offers quality independent movie alternatives to children and teens.

The Providence Children’s Festival hosts 6 days of films, workshops and presentations for children, youth and teens at 3 locations in downtown Providence. Watch exciting and engaging high-quality, international films, animation, and documentaries. Tickets are $7.50 general admission; $5.00 children, students, seniors which includes free admission on Saturday and Sunday (only) to the RISD Museum. Films and events at RISD Metcalf Auditorium are free with the exception of Opening night (Tickets are $15.00 adult; $10.00 children.) Discount family packages are available.

PCFF 2012 Poster - no sponsors

The only film festival in New England dedicated to children’s films offers quality independent movie alternatives to children and teens.

The Providence Children’s Festival hosts 6 days of films, workshops and presentations for children, youth and teens at 3 locations in downtown Providence. Watch exciting and engaging high-quality, international films, animation, and documentaries. Tickets are $7.50 general admission; $5.00 children, students, seniors which includes free admission on Saturday and Sunday (only) to the RISD Museum. Films and events at RISD Metcalf Auditorium are free with the exception of Opening night (Tickets are $15.00 adult; $10.00 children.) Discount family packages are available.

This year the festival will show a diverse selection of 17 feature length films and approximately 44 shorts: including French animation Tales of the Night, acclaimed director Michel Ocelot’s latest film of enchanted lands, dragons and captive princesses; Crocodiles Strike Back, the sequel to a 2011 PCFF audience favorite – the second installment of a trilogy featuring a gang of pint-sized detectives in an entertaining coming-of-age film (German); Soul Boy, a dramatic and inspiring film based on African folklore, and Circus Dreams, a documentary on the teens that make up the acclaimed Vermont Circus Smirkus troupe – with director Signe Taylor on hand for a Q&A session at the Saturday screening and performers putting on a special performance after the screening.



One of the goals of the PCFF has been to build our reputation as an organization that curates a program of diverse and thoughtful films for younger minds. What the festival is really about is an event that offers choices to children and families beyond the films that are typically sold “to” their children- the festival is unique in that the PCFF is not looking at the audience as just a marketing opportunity. It’s not about films selling products or any mass market appeal. It’s scope is international and comprised of high quality independent films for an audience that appreciates a good story, has interest in learning about other cultures and a program of films that doesn’t dumb down the content for younger minds, but treats them instead as mature viewers. For a good portion of the festival audience (at least those who have never attended before) the idea of seeing a documentary or a film with subtitles is a completely new experience- and one that is not usually offered to their age demographic.

The movies have been juried by adults (mainly parents) and children. The PCFF jury committee spends a great deal of time reviewing films evaluating the quality and content of the movies submitted. Films are listed with the following information: country of origin, subtitled or dubbed and suggested age ratings and why. We leave it up to you the parents to decide what is appropriate or not for your children. We invite you to explore a range of films with your kids and leave time to talk about what they will see before and after the film.

ALL AGES

Lotte from Gadgetville
All ages. (Estonia, 2006) / dubbed into English / 81 mins.

Man on a Mission
All ages. Director Mike Woolf / (USA, 2010) / English / 83 mins.

The Sandman

Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams (pictured)
All ages. Jesper Moller / (Germany/France, 2010) / dubbed into English / 81 mins.

The Best of New York International 
Children’s Film Festival 2011
Kid Flix Mix
All ages. English or musical non-dialogue / various lengths totaling 60mins.

Light of the River
Ages 6 and up (threatening situations without harm). Directed by Tetsuo Hirakawa / (Japan, 2009) / in Japanese with English subtitles. 75 mins.

AGES 8 and up

Circus Dreams
Ages 8 and up. Director Signe Taylor / (USA, 2010) / 82 mins.

I Am Kalam
Ages 8 and up (strong child discipline). Director Nila Madhab Panda / (India, 2010) / Hindi w/English subtitles / 87mins.

I Believe I Can Fly
Ages 8 and up (one curse spoken). Director Seb Montaz / (France, 2011) / French with English subtitles / 41 mins.

Magic Silver
Ages 8 and up. (Norway 2010) / Norwegian with English subtitles / 83 mins.

Tales of the Night
Ages 8 and up (Some scenes may frighten sensitive children. Silhouetted scenes of danger/ un-glorified violence). Director Michel Ocelot / (France, 2011) / French with English subtitles / 84 mins.

The Best of New York International 
Children’s Film Festival 2011
Party Mix
Ages 8 and up. English or musical non-dialogue / digital projection / 68 mins.

Providence Community Library Show
Ages 8 and up (Be aware that what was considered funny many years ago may be considered insensitive by standards of 2012). / approx. 60 mins.

Your Shorts Are Showin’
Ages 8 and up. / approx. 70 mins.

Jumping Boy
Ages 9 and up. Director Chin Lin / (Taiwan, 2011) / Chinese with English subtitles / 95 mins.

Letter for the King
Ages 9 and up (sword fight violence). (Norway, 2008) / Norwegian with English subtitles / 107 mins.

Me and My Umbrella
Ages 9 and up (some cursing, beginning of romantic intrigue, suspenseful scenes and one very spooky teacher). (Brazil, 2010) / Portuguese with English subtitles / 78 mins.

AGES 11 and up

Crocodiles Strike Back
Ages 11 and up (parental guidance suggested due to coarse language, bathroom humor and scenes depicting danger and violence). Director Christian Ditter / (Germany, 2010) / German with English subtitles / 90 mins.

The Secret Letter
Ages 12 and up (threats of violence, suspense w/real potential danger, teenage antics). Director Simone van Dusseldorp / (Netherlands 2010) / Dutch with English subtitles / 87 mins.

Soul Boy
Ages 12 and up (threatening situations, coarse language). Director Hawa Essuman / (Kenya-Germany, 2010) / Swahili with English subtitles/ 60 mins.

Wintertochter
Ages 12 and up (“birds n’ bees” maturity, teenage tempers). Director Johannes Schmid and produced by Philipp Budweg / (German/Poland, 2011) / German, Polish and Russian w/English subtitles / 93 mins.

PCFF takes place at three locations in downtown Providence. Opening night is held at the Metcalf Auditorium, RISD Museum Chace Center on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 7:00 pm with guest speakers and reception. Reception begins at 6pm; film starts at 7pm. The Festival continues through February 21, 2012 with films, workshops and presentations at the Metcalf Auditorium/RISD Museum Chace Center, the RISD Auditorium and the Cable Car Cinema, scheduled at various times between 9:30am-7:30pm.

“So many parents have told us that they crave an alternative to the mainstream, commercial movie experience that is centered around selling merchandise to our kids. The Providence Children’s Film Festival is our response: non-commercial, intelligent, engaging movies that excite and educate young minds, where the only thing being sold is creativity,” states Brenda Shannon, Board President, PCFF. The Festival’s international scope offers educational opportunity to children and kids. “For a good portion of our young audience members, the idea of seeing a documentary or a film with subtitles is a completely new and welcome experience, and one that is not usually offered to their age demographic.”

Unique to PCFF is the selection process of the films. A committee – that includes youth between ages 5-13 – view and score each of the hundreds of films submitted and solicited by the Festival based on several criteria. “Unlike other film festivals, the PCFF “junior jury” plays an integral role in deciding the films that make it into the festival,” shares Eric Bilodeau, PCFF Director of Programming. “We are not just asking them to rate their ‘favorites’ from a group of finals; we give them full score cards and full viewing (depending on their exact age).” The score card rates story, direction, sound, acting, production values and PCFF film suitability.

Partners and sponsors of this year’s event include: Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, BankRI, Butterfield, Carter Family Charitable Trust, Edwards Wildman & Palmer LLP, Hunts Photo & Video, Kidoinfo, The Myranda Group, New Harvest Coffee Roasters, Providence Athenaeum, Providence Children’s Museum, Providence Monthly, Rhode Island School of Design, RISD Museum of Art, Rule Boston Camera, Seven Stars Bakery, Whole Foods Market,  4 Eyes Design, College Hill Neighborhood Association (CHNA),  DCI, Ryan Manzi, Rag and Bone Bindery, Site Specific, Adler’s Design Center and Hardware, Gardner+Gerrish, Providence Marriott Downtown, I WAS THERE Project, Kreatelier.

Visit pcffri.org for more information.

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