PCFF 2021 WINNER Special Jury Award Best Narrative Feature!
Jack raves about his younger brother Gio, whom he believes to have superpowers. As he grows older he realizes that his brother is special in other ways. In a moment of uncertainty, Jack decides to deny having a brother from his classmates. But he failed to take into account that a brother like Gio is a personality impossible to deny to anyone. The consequences are a hard lesson learned in this poignant, humorous coming-of-age-story full of clashing emotions. Will Jack dare be as natural as his brother? Based on a true story.
As one of the top four youth film festivals in North America, PCFF invites short film compilations from other prestigious festivals to be part of our festival. New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) VIVA KID FLICKS celebrates Spanish-language and Latino-themed stories in shorts films from around the globe.
NYICFF Viva Kid Flicks: Best Spanish Language and Latino Themed films of New York International Children’s Film Festival
As one of the top four youth film festivals in North America, PCFF invites short film compilations from other prestigious festivals to be part of our festival. New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) VIVA KID FLICKS celebrates Spanish-language and Latino-themed stories in shorts films from around the globe. Can a fabled stone offer another path for Matilde’s life on her Mexican rancho (HORSE’S STONE)? And the choices we make at mealtime sometimes have a very big impact, especially for a seemingly picky eater with a lot more on his mind in the drama from Spain, FISH . The universal language of wizards bridges cultures from the UK to Cuba in the imaginative doc SPELLIASMOUS .With films from six countries, you’ll experience moving stories and hear how Spanish stories from around the world have their own distinctive flair.
NYICFF Viva Kid Flicks celebra, en cortometrajes de todo el mundo, historias con temática hispana y latina. Puede una legendaria piedra ofrecerle otro camino a la vida de Matilda en su rancho? Y las elecciones que hacemos a veces durante una comida pueden tener un gran impacto, especialmente para un comensal difícil con mucho más en su mente, en el drama español, Fish. El lenguaje universal de los hechiceros tiende puentes entre las culturas de Inglaterra y Cuba en el imaginativo documental Spelliasmous .
Con cortos de seis países, experimentarás historias conmovedoras y escucharás cómo historias en español de muchos lugares del mundo tienen sus propias particularidades. Recomendada para niños de 8 años en adelante.
Multi-national / In Spanish with English subtitles or in English / 65 min / Ages 8+
SPELLIASMOUS
Cuba, Documentary
Ben Garfield, 2018, 3 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
The universal language of wizards bridges cultures in this imaginative doc.
El lenguaje universal de los hechiceros tiende puentes entre culturas en este imaginativo documental.
GINA
Mexico, Animation
David Diomedes Heras, 2018, 9 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
Dancing son jarocho has been Gina’s dream since she was born, but stuck wearing a chicken suit she can’t take off, she’ll have to shake more than just her tail feathers to reach the top.
Bailar son jarocho ha sido el sueño de Gina desde que nació, pero atascada en un traje de pollo que no puede quitarse, tendrá que sacudir más que las plumas de la cola para lograrlo.
STARDUST (Polvo de Estrellas)
Mexico, Live Action
Aldo Sotelo Lázaro, 2017, 14 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
One young man realizes that no matter how humble his surroundings, he can still find a path to reach for the stars.
Un joven se da cuenta de que no importa cuán humildes es su entorno, aún puede encontrar un camino para llegar a las estrellas.
HORSE’S STONE (Piedra de Caballo)
Mexico, Live Action
Cynthia Fernández Trejo, 2017, 20 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
Can a fabled stone offer another path for Matilde’s life on her Mexican rancho?
Puede una piedra legendaria ofrecerle a la vida de Matilde en su rancho un camino diferente?
JESSZILLA
USA, Documentary
Emily Sheskin, 2017, 7 min
In English
A pugilist-in-training, Jess has big boxing aspirations, while her father worries and supports her in one-two alternations of his own.
Una boxeadora en entrenamiento, Jess tiene grandes aspiraciones para su carrera deportiva, mientras su padre se preocupa y la apoya haciendo sus propios movimientos
MI ABUELITA (My Grandmother)
Guatemala, Animation
Giselle Pérez, 2018, 2 min
No dialogue
Like everything Abuelita does, her tamales are filled with love, especially when her granddaughter gets to help out in the kitchen.
Como todo lo que hace la Abuelita, sus tamales están llenos de amor, especialmente cuando su nieta puede ayudarla en la cocina.
FISH (Pez)
Spain, Live Action
Javier Quintas, 2017, 10 min
In Spanish with English subtitles
The choices we make at mealtime sometimes have a very big impact for a seemingly picky eater with a lot more on his mind.
Las elecciones que hacemos durante las comidas a veces tienen un enorme impacto para un aparentemente difícil comensal con mucho en la mente.
Families in Flight
Regional conflict across the globe has forced many families to unwillingly leave their homes. These are stories of families on the move in an effort to survive. Stories include a boy from Syria who tries to reconnect with his traumatized mother. Another film is of a Syrian family that gets separated en route to Germany. You might view a “refugee/immigrant” in a very different way after experiencing their stories.
Multi-national / In English or w/English subtitles / 70 min / Age 10+ / (real life-threatening and life-taking stories from refugees)
Film lineup is subject to change without notice.
Adnan
Ten year old Adnan has fled Syria with his mother after their family were killed and their neighbourhood destroyed. Now settled in the UK, he must use all his creativity to break through her PTSD or risk losing her forever.
UK, 2019 / in Arabic with English subtitles / Steven Chatterton, Mark Arrigo / 15 min / Live Action.
199 little heroes: Rania from Syria
Rania lives in one of the biggest refugee camps in the world in Za’atari, Jordan. Her parents and her siblings share a small container. Not all the children in the camp go to school but Rania does. It helps alleviate her pain of living where she is. She wants to become a civil engineer and longs to return to Syria.
Germany-Jordan, 2018 / in Arabic with English subtitles / Gessie George / 8 min / Documentary.
Nooreh
Nestled in Kashmir valley lies a small village on the India-Pakistan border always caught in the crossfire between the two warring nations. One night an eight year old girl ‘Nooreh’ discovers that the gun battle rages when she sleeps and the bloody duel stops when she keeps her eyes open.
India, 2018 / in Kashmiri with English subtitles / Ashish Pandey / 22 min / Live Action.
Traces of Little Feet
Amir is a ten-year-old boy from Syria. He and his mother arrived in Germany as refugees one year ago. Their experience on getting to Germany could be seen as just as perilous as staying.
Germany, 2019 / in Arabic and German with English subtitles / Murad Atshan / 17 min / Live Action.
A Celebration
A Celebration is a short drama about 8-year-old Ada who tries to convince her newly immigrated mother to celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking a turkey. However, when Ada sets to celebrate Thanksgiving like a “true Canadian”, she discovers what it means to be an immigrant family.
Canada, 2019 / in English and Turkish with English subtitles / Mahsa Razavi / 11 min / Live Action.
The Girl at the End of the Garden
A slapstick comedy about an unhappy young girl whose life is turned upside-down when she finds a mysterious runaway with psychic powers in her back garden.
Ireland, 2019 / in English / Bonnie Dempsey / 14 min / Live Action.
Eleven-year-old Marco cares only about video gaming and all his friends are online. When Marco’s grandfather moves in for the summer, “Nonno” decides to teach his “robot” grandson how to live. Nonno challenges Marco to learn bocce and make friends, telling him: “Bocce is like life. It’s not about thinking. You have to feel.” Marco resists, but his inevitable awakening is genuinely moving as he rises to the challenge and tries to beat the old man at his own game. After watching you might have the urge to visit grandparents, try bocce and buy some rainbow cookies!
USA / 2019 / 90 min / Ages 10+ (smoking, divorce, death of grandparent)
A fairytale-like adventure that feels like part dream, part reality. A young man crash lands on a mysterious island and has to travel across it to find his way out. The challenge is not to get caught by a giant creature that won’t stop pursuing him. Whether the creature is real or just a manifestation of our hero’s inner demons is up for debate. There is something rather rudimentary about the animation itself but the aesthetic only adds to the film’s strange and absorbing power, creating a hypnotizing atmosphere that, in its best moments, manages to spirit us away. Not a word is spoken but the film score speaks volumes.
Latvia / 2019 / no dialog / 75 min / Ages 10+ (malevolent creature that will not stop chasing)
BABE is celebrating its 25th anniversary year!?! (We couldn’t believe it either.) As Roger Ebert wrote about this unique and amazing film, “BABE is a movie made with charm and wit, and unlike some family movies it does not condescend, not for a second. It believes it is OK to use words a child might not know…and instead of the usual contrived melodrama of most kids’ pictures, this one develops a story that depends on the character and upbringing of the animals involved. It knows things, and teaches lessons.” Enuf said!
Australia / 1995 / in English / 91 min / All Ages
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG has been charming audiences for 50 years! To mark its anniversary, PCFF introduces a new generation to this classic Ian Fleming story and Roald Dahl screenplay that takes us to faraway lands, introduces us to characters named Truly Scrumptious, Caractacus Potts, and the vehicular star, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! To those that may wonder, just what is a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Well it’s the name of a “fine four-fendered friend” who can fly, float, and drive by itself. Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes croon the most memorable songs one movie can possibly contain. Van Dyke quipped, “We’re going to out-Disney Disney!” and the film ultimately received a nomination for an Oscar, two Golden Globes and a Grammy.
The four Walker children (Swallows) have finally convinced their parents to let them set off on their own for a sailing adventure during summer vacation. The excursion quickly turns into a fierce turf war when they learn their island camp has been claimed by the boisterous Blackett sisters (Amazons), and find themselves caught in the midst of some nefarious international intrigue that’s landed in their sleepy byways. Based on the beloved English novels by Arthur Ransome, SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS is filled with dramas big and small—from a capsized picnic basket to a Russian spy campaign—that come together to create a fluidly captivating story of bravery set against the languorous beauty of the English countryside of 1935.
From executive producer Angelina Jolie and the creators of the Academy Award®-nominated THE SECRET OF KELLS and SONG OF THE SEA, comes a highly-anticipated new film based on Deborah Ellis’ best-selling novel. Director Nora Twomey’s animation magnificently conveys the extraordinary story of 11-year-old Afghan girl Parvana, born into an ever-changing world of conflict and oppression, who finds strength in the love of her family and the power of storytelling.
In Taliban-controlled Kabul, women and girls are not permitted to leave the house unescorted, to earn money, or to shop for food and supplies in the market. When Parvana’s father, a teacher, is unfairly imprisoned, she must disguise herself as a boy to become her family’s sole breadwinner. Showing courage and perseverance, Parvana does anything she can to support her family, while trying desperately to help free her father.
THE BREADWINNER is fundamentally about family, friendship, and imagination. With a team of over 200 artists, animators, and actors from around the world, Twomey has created an innovative mix of 2-D animation with acrylic and digitally painted environments, as well as digital paper cut–out segments, all woven into an unforgettable story.
This is not just an incredibly important film, but one that reminds us of the power of animation to communicate serious issues in the world. It will surely be a strong contender for a “Best Animated Feature” Academy Award nomination.
Did Cinderella boogie to Latin music? Did Snow White hitch a ride on a hippy bus? Roald Dahl’s classic skewering of traditional fairy tales with revisionist storylines is now a dark and delicious double feature. This animated film crackles with Dahl’s exceptional poetic and naughty prose narrated by the Big Bad Wolf (Dominic West). Because of the unpleasant (graphic) demise of several key characters, the films are best suited for those who enjoy happy endings that are a bit more sinister than sweet.