Children’s Film Festival is worth a trip
February 8, 2012 4:28PM
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For more information on the Coastline Children’s Film Festival, including a complete schedule and descriptions of the films, click on the festival link at www.brookviewschool.org.
Updated: March 11, 2012 8:28AM
“Imaginative,” “inspiring” and “fun” describe the 50 films being shown in the Coastline Children’s Film Festival. “Affordable “describes the admission to screenings — free, with a suggested donation of $1 per person.
Beginning at 10 a.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 11, the festival will offer three screenings at the venue closest to northwest Indiana this year, the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, Mich.
“We start at the Acorn with ‘Canadian Shorts,’ a wonderful collection of short films for kids. Several were Oscar nominated or Oscar winning, all are exceptional,” according to Leslie Sullivan, festival curator.
“Canadian Shorts” includes both live-action and animated films which are appropriate for all ages.
“Next (at noon CST) will be three films by Michael Sporn, an esteemed animation artist and a brilliant guy: ‘Abel’s Island’; a very sweet film, ‘The Marzipan Pig’; and ‘The Man Who Walked Between the Towers.’ If you saw the movie ‘Man on Wire,’ this is an animation of the same story, about the aerialist who walked on a tightrope between the Twin Towers in New York,” Sullivan said.
“Another film at the Acorn (1:30 p.m. CST) that is really outstanding is ‘The Way Things Go’ by a wonderful Swiss artist duo. This started as a site-specific artist film that starts with a tea kettle and sets off an amazing chain of interactions, like a Rube Goldberg device. We just screened it in Bridgeman (Mich.) — the kids thought it was hysterical,” Sullivan said.
“The last film at the Acorn (2 p.m. CST) is another one I think is important: ‘Louder than a Bomb.’ This is a documentary about a poetry slam in Chicago and some of the high school students participating in it. It reminds me of one of my favorite films, ‘Spellbound,’ with much the same flavor, but this is with older kids. It’s riveting, and a wonderful celebration of language, but also uses some tough language and conveys some hard life experiences, so this one is recommended for ages 13 and up,” explained Sullivan.
The Acorn Theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, is behind the post office on Elm Street.
The Coastline Children’s Film Festival also has several remaining workshops.
These include: film workshops Thursday, Feb. 9, and Friday, Feb. 10, covering topics from writing and storyboarding to scene design and directing; the Feb. 10 dinner and sustainable food workshop follows a viewing of the provocative film “What’s on Your Plate” about two young girls discovering information about the food they eat; and a writing workshop Feb. 11 after the screening of the film “White Mane” by the director of the classic film “The Red Balloon.” These workshops are $30 each and will take place at the Anna Russo-Sieber Gallery in Benton Harbor, Mich.; phone (269) 208-4409 for information and reservations.
There will also be a creative arts workshop following a viewing of “The Red Balloon” at 1:30 p.m. (CST) Feb. 11 at the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Mich. This workshop costs $25, and requires registration by calling (269) 983-0271.
In just its second year, the Coastline Children’s Film Festival is offering events at seven different venues. Sullivan added that the festival has hopes to expand the offerings next year to include more student involvement, possibly even student-made films. She said that there have also been discussions of adding a venue in northwest Indiana.
