MEDIA ALERT:
PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE UPCOMING 11th ANNUAL EVENT: FEBRUARY 14-23, 2020

Providence, Rhode Island, February 4, 2020: The Providence Children’s Film Festival kicks off on Valentines Day, February 14, 2020 where festival attendees can look forward to an opening night feature film with “love” as the theme.

Other 11th Annual Highlights to include:

• Two-Time Grammy Award winning, local artist Bill Harley providing opening night remarks along with a performance. An animated short film adaptation of one of his songs won last year’s Audience Choice Award.
• Nine shorts programs created from over 800 films considered for this year’s festival. Animation of all types are included in every reel but so are documentaries, experimental films and dance.
• Three shorts reels from two other festivals. For nine years the New York International Children’s Film Festival has been invited to show the films they thought were their best. This year they have an animated shorts reel along with a spanish language reel. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival from California will show a compilation of films they created for young minds. WILD CHILD 2020 presents multiple films of kids interacting and learning about nature all with the hope of improving the world.
• Twelve feature films are also a part of the festival. Some of the highlights are:
  • Last year a Norwegian film walked away with the Audience Choice Award. This year it just might be Sweden (SUNE vs. SUNE) or the Netherlands (MY EXTRAORDINARY SUMMER WITH TESS). Both have walked away with many international Audience Choice Awards in the past year.
  • In the vein of “never forget your past” a classic film or two is included. We are bringing a Marx Brothers film to our festival, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA. Along with the Australian film, BABE which turns 25 years old.
  • Documentaries are a key part of every festival and have garnered many Audience Choice Awards in the past. This year both documentaries presented are focused on improving our environment. MICROPLASTIC MADNESS follows a group of 4th & 5th graders trying to take plastics out of their school and lives. MR. TOILET: The World’s #2 Man is as funny as it is serious about tackling the problem of the lack of proper sanitation around the world and how it can affect billions of people.
  • Several feature films this year feature very unique narratives. In ROMY’S SALON it is the granddaughter that first notices her grandmother suffering from early dementia. Also in the “narrative first” department is GOOD GAME: The Beginning. E-sports is the fastest growing spectator sport in the world right now. This high suspense film follows one gamer’s quest to win it all but at what cost?!
  • Feature animation film highlight this year is AWAY from Estonia. Do you think your child can handle a dialog-less film for 65 mins? This high suspense chase film done in an imaginary world is equal parts stunningly beautiful and full of potential dread. The action and film score will keep you on the edge of your seats the whole time.
• Connecting the films shown every year to the community we live in is very important to us. We take a theme or element from a film’s narrative and invite a person/organization to come and speak about how the film connects to our local community after multiple screenings. This year we have confirmed that Save The Bay and the Narragansett Bay Commission will present what they are doing to address the issues brought up in the films MICROPLASTIC MADNESS and MR. TOILET.
• Two film related special presentations are also happening this year. Producer Kim Wright from Sesame Street will speak at Acoustic Java on how to make an effective pitch for your film or film talents on Saturday, February 22nd. Along with a presentation put on with the R.I. Refugee Dream Center and RISD.
• Finally, it wouldn’t be our film festival without the ever popular Youth Filmmaker Shows. These shows present films submitted from as close as Providence to as far away as Uzbekistan. Seeing what young filmmakers are creating gives you amazing insight into what is on their minds for our future.

The annual Festival represents the best of independent and international children’s cinema to inspire, delight, educate, and connect a diverse community of children and families throughout Rhode Island and New England. Animated, live-action, documentary and youth-made films are selected for their compelling stories with a global perspective that challenge young audiences to better understand the world. A complete list of the schedule can be found here: https://providencechildrensfilmfestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PCFF_2020Program_printableLetter_lores.pdf

Tickets can be purchased here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=pcff

About PCFF

Providence Children’s Film Festival (PCFF) is a 501(c)(3) arts and culture nonprofit organization, founded in 2009. Our mission is to present the best of independent and international cinema to inspire, delight, educate, and connect a diverse community of children and families from Rhode Island and beyond. The PCFF FILM HUB connects the community year-round with a collection of resources—including a film directory of past festival films and film guides with discussion questions and activities activity reel—designed to promote film education and access to the best of independent and international children’s cinema. To get involved in the 2020 Festival, interested businesses and organizations can visit www.ProvidenceChildrensFilmFestival.org/Sponsor or contact Amy Larkin, PCFF Marketing/Sponsorship, at amywarnerlarkin@gmail.com.

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Media note: To access movie stills or quotes, please contact eric@providencechildrensfilmfestival.org

Want to learn how to make a movie? Registration now open for the 2020 PCFF Youth Filmmaking Workshops for kids ages 6 to 17. Learn the art of animation, experiment with a green screen, create a music video and more! Participants’ collaborative films will be included in the 2020 Group Workshop Reel, shown on the big screen during the Festival! Classes often sell out, so don’t delay – register today!

Sunday, February 9
FULL-DAY WORKSHOP

LOCATION: TAPA: Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, 275 Westminster St., Providence, RI
REGISTER NOW

• PCFF Give Me 5 Youth Film Lab 
  Sunday, 11:00am–6:00pm
  Ages 12 – 17
  Cost: $65 for the whole day, includes material/equipment fee, lunch and 2 courtesy passes to the 2020 Festival (February 14 – 23). Scholarships available. No one turned away based on inability to pay.Make a Minute Film Challenge. Want to create a movie without dialogue, without spoken words, without even ONE line?! The PCFF Give Me 5 Youth Film Lab challenges teens to work collaboratively to complete a one-minute film, in only six hours. Assigned teams guided by a film coach will make a film from beginning to end: brainstorming, writing, storyboarding, acting, filming, and editing. At the end of the lab, parents are invited to watch the finished films and hear the teams discuss the process. No previous filmmaking experience required! Because this workshop is partially funded by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, in-state residents will receive placement preference.

PAST WORKSHOPS

Saturday, February 10
3-HOUR WORKSHOPS

LOCATION: RISD Auditorium Building, 7 Canal Walk, Providence. Use Market Square entrance. map
Cost: $45 per 3-hour workshop. Includes material / equipment fee PLUS allows student and 1 guest to attend the Youth Filmmaker Showcase free of charge. Limited scholarships are available.
Register now

• Make a Music Video
  Saturday, 9:30am – 12:30pm
  Ages 8 – 14
  Find out how to make a music video that rocks! This exciting workshop breaks down the process of music video production. Workshop attendees collaborate as a group to storyboard and construct visuals to make a video for a locally recorded song by a You Rock School of Music youth band.
• LIVE ACTION! Green Screen
  Saturday, 1:00pm–4:00pm
  Ages 10 – 14
  Ever wondered how a green screen works? In this workshop students learn the fundamentals of green screen special effects and take turns filming themselves in front of a green screen with their own artwork becoming the backgrounds.
• Bring-A-Thing Animating
  Saturday, 1:00pm–4:00pm
  Ages 6 – 10
  Kids are encouraged to bring small objects from home to create their own characters (supplies also provided). Then get ready to bring them to life on the screen in this animation workshop. Have a blast while learning how to make something appear to jump and soar in space!

Sunday, February 11
3-HOUR WORKSHOPS

LOCATION: RISD Auditorium Building, 7 Canal Walk, Providence. Use Market Square entrance. map
COST: $45 per 3-hour workshop. Includes material / equipment fee PLUS allows student and 1 guest to attend the Youth Filmmaker Showcase free of charge. Limited scholarships are available.
Register now

• Play with Your Food
  Sunday, 9:30am–12:30pm
  Ages 6 – 10
  Kids get to play with their food and make it appear to come to life with some movie magic! These noms will seem to grow to enormous sizes and chase this class around! Please let us know of food allergies.
• LIVE ACTION! Special Effects and Camera Tricks
  Sunday, 1:00–4:00pm
  Ages 10 – 14
  Discover the world behind practical special effects using common ingredients. Concoctions of slime, blood, and alien drool will be made in class. Learn how to use a camera to fly, slide, and teleport!
• Make a Music Video
  Sunday, 1:00–4:00pm
  Ages 8 – 14
  Find out how to make a music video that rocks! This exciting workshop breaks down the process of music video production. Workshop attendees collaborate as a group to storyboard and construct visuals to make a video for a locally recorded song by a Girls Rock! youth band.

REGISTER NOW!

WAITLIST: Class sold out? Join the waitlist.

For more information, contact us.