The USA Film Festival’s 31st annual KidFilm will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the Angelika Film Center. The kid-themed festival features new and recent films, many based on beloved children’s stories, as well as appearances by notable children’s authors. And the best part: the festival is entirely free and open to the public. If you plan on heading out, you can find information on free tickets and a complete schedule here. Here are five films we’re looking forward to at this year’s festival.
Books on the Big Screen (January 24, 12:30 p.m.)
Authors Alison McGhee and Kathi Appelt will be in attendance for a screening of a series of short films based on Alison’s A Very Brave Witch, Bink and Gollie, and Bink and Gollie: Two for One. Alison will read from her book So Many Days after the screening, and the authors will sign books afterwards.
The 7th Dwarf (January 24, 12:30 p.m.)
One of two films making its North American film festival premiere, this German comedy is a fairy tale spoof that mashes up Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and other fairy tales in a time traveling, mad cap adventure story co-directed by the late Harald Siepermann. Siepermann worked on films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Tarzan, Treasure Planet, and Enchanted during his career as an artist and animator.
Maya and the Bee Movie (January 24, 2:30 p.m.)
Jacki Weaver, Miriam Margolyes, and Richard Roxburgh star in this animated film adaptation of the children’s novel about a bee who sets off on an adventure from the hive which brings about a slew of new, cross-species friendships. The festival screening is the North American debut of the film that will be released locally in March.
The Boy and the World (January 24, 4:30 p.m.)
This 2013 animated film out of Brazil has virtually no dialogue, instead using imaginative visuals and a florid soundtrack to tell the story of a boy from a mythical country who sets off on a journey into a distant and magical new world. It received honors at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Festival do Rio.
The Legend of Longwood (January 25, 4:30 p.m.)
Perhaps this year’s sleeper hit fantasy, this Irish film stars newcomer Lucy Morton as a 12-year-old city girl who sets out on a quest that to break a 300-year-old spell cast on a small Irish town. The film, which includes music from Brave composer Patrick Neil Doyle, sounds like mix of Into The West and Harry Potter.
