Dream Catchers: Childrens Film Fest Live Action Shorts

72 Minutes * Ages 8+

Showings

Lark Theater Sun, Apr 8, 2018 3:30 PM
Film Info
Event Type:Family Films
Release Year:2018
Rating:Ages 8+
Genre:Short Films
Family
Production Country:Various

Description

Who says being a kid is easy? The young people in these films must overcome all kinds of challenges, big and small, to follow their dreams. Meet a non-gender-conforming kid who finds courage in a new friendship, a boy who discovers the healing power of art, a child who finds a wily way to lure a teacher to his town, a girl who overcomes her fear of strange food, and a boy and his father who form a bond over a simple Japanese dish. This program concludes with a documentary about a talented young Iraqi refugee, living in Lebanon, and a film from Puerto Rico that will urges youth to look up from their screens, and see the beautiful world around them. 


Can You See the Future? Winner of the CFFS Plural+ Prize, for an international film by a filmmaker 25 years or younger 

(Ismet Kale, Turkey, live action and animation, 2017, 2 min, nonverbal)

If you look closely, you can see that children are always dreaming of what they will be. This film encourages us all to support those dreams. 


Riceballs 

(Shingo Usami, Australia, live action, 2015, 10 min, English and Japanese with English subtitles)

A father and a son find love and cultural identity firmly squeezed into a Japanese rice ball.


Cup of Tea 

(Jitendra Rai, India, live action, 2016, 3 min, nonverbal) 

Expect the unexpected in this film about a chance encounter between a young teacher and a knowledge-hungry boy.


Sammy Paramaribo: Bittersweet 

(Barbara Breeder, The Netherlands, and Suriname, live action, 2016, 8 min, Dutch, with English subtitles.) 

Sammy, from the Netherlands, goes on vacation to Suriname, where she learns to try new foods and make new friends. 


Mrs. McCutcheon 

(John Sheedy, Australia, live action, 2017, 16:30 min, English) 

Meet 10-year-old Mrs. McCutcheon — a kid who prefers the flow of a dress than the cut of a pant. At a new school, Mrs. McCutcheon is having trouble finding acceptance from the other kids in the class — except for Trevor, a tough little charmer who also suffers prejudice due to his Aboriginal heritage. Together, the pair sets off for the school dance.


Scrap Dolls 

(Aude Cuenod, USA, live action, 2016, 14 min, English) 

On the east side of Detroit an 11-year-old boy, grieving over the loss of his best friend, encounters an artist who makes art out of abandoned objects. 


Spotlight on Merna

(Mirjam Marks, The Netherlands, live action, 2016, 15 min, Arabic and English with English subtitles). 

After fleeing Iraq, Merna becomes a superstar by participating in The Voice Kids, but her biggest dream is to be able to live in a safe environment.


Youth Challenge 

(Julio Benito Cabrera, Puerto Rico, live action, 2017,  4 min, nonverbal with some Spanish intertitles) 

This film from Puerto Rico reminds all youth to look up from their phones, to see if there is a person near them who needs help. Every act of kindness makes the world a better place.

Content advisory: There are scenes involving bullying in both Scrap Dolls and Mrs. McCutcheon. Mrs. McCutcheon also contains two mild swear words, spoken by children in a schoolyard. Riceballs and Scrap Dolls both deal with the loss of a loved one in a positive, healing way.