AIFF World Film: Dutch Animation Celebration, October 7 & 14
There may be no better year than this one to virtually travel: Ashland Independent Film Festival is hosting their (31st) Varsity World Film Weeks, a collection of films snagged from around the globe – a thriller from Iran, a animation festival from the Netherlands, a noir film from England.
Octo. 7, 14: Dutch Animation Celebration
How can such brief, animated, subtitled snippets created for children cause laughter and tears within moments? The perpetrators of all this emotion are the New York Children’s International Film Festival teaming up with Cinekid, the Netherlands’ children’s film festival rockstar, to present the comedic and the dramatic, the insightful and the silly.
Keeping kids in the spotlight, Heads Togetherand Polska Warriorhones in on the struggles faced by each individual, and how we can never truly know what another is up against until we spend a day in their shoes—sometimes literally.
Two films by Marlies van der Wel stand out in their artistry and feeling. Jonas & the Seaand Emily both capture the desires of the heart warring with the limitation of the mind in differing settings. Jonas & the Seabrings back memories of Don Knotts in The Incredible Mr. Limpetin their fascination with the fish of the sea and the incredible lengths they will go to reach their dreams. Emilylives her life in a garden, which seems like all one could ever want, but sometimes an obvious paradise is not all it is cracked up to be.
Two of the shortest films in the program, Passing Byand Mr. Paper Goes Out For a Walk, master the delicate art of keeping the content simple and brief, but also leaving the viewer with a history to ponder and a future to contemplate. SJW
October 7 and 14, recommended ages 8 and up.
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