We are delighted to be able to re-present this Festival Flashback from five years ago!

Cathy’s tenth birthday is tough enough without her eccentric father giving her an egg as a gift along with a warning: “Be there when it is born so the bird recognizes YOU as its mother.” After a game of hide-and-seek goes awry, Cathy’s friend Margaux unknowingly becomes the “mother.” Unfortunately for the bird and Margaux, her parents believe Margaux is unable to care for this pet from her wheelchair. It takes a duckling, a great friend, and a temporary flight from home to alter everyone’s understanding of life’s limitations.

2016 Festival Flashback!! Five years ago we invited this thought-provoking documentary to our festival. With the situation in the Middle East still far from resolution, this film speaks volumes about the hurdles people face to live in peace.

ALMOST FRIENDS is a documentary about two Israeli girls—an Arab and a Jew—who live only 40 miles away but in many ways live worlds apart. Participating in an online program that fosters educational exchange and friendship, the two girls correspond with caution and eventually meet face-to-face. The experience is profoundly moving for them, their families, and the audiences who see this touching film. But when conflict spans generations, change is slow and “almost” anything might be a start…

 

Let’s Get Animated
Animation is like magic. An animator takes a non-living thing then, voila!… provides the illusion that it now has life. Just how the illusion is accomplished varies greatly from each different filmmaker. This year matchsticks will be very much brought to “life”, the game of chess will be played in a very unique way and a filmmaker returns with her latest story told with clay-paint. These films may animate YOU to make some of your own magic!
Multi-national / In English or with English subtitles / 70 min / All Ages

Film lineup is subject to change without notice.

6:1
Sometimes where you play checkers can become part of the game!
Russia, 2018 / no dialogue / Sergei Ryabov / 3 min / Animation.

The Kite
The Kite deals with the issue of death, but it does so in a simple metaphorical and symbolic way on the relationship between the little boy and his grandpa. It explains that none of us are here forever and that all living creatures must die, but also to show that death doesn’t mean the end of our journey.
Czech Republic, 2019 / no dialogue / Martin Smatana / 13 min / Animation.

Angel’s Trumpet
An animated world where hummingbirds taste the nectar of wind instruments which surprisingly affects their birdsong.
Estonia, 2019 / no dialogue / Martinus Klemet / 2.5 min / Animation.

The Elephant’s Song
The sad but true story of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, set to a tune sung by her friend, an old farm dog. Their story is portrayed in colorful, handcrafted animation, created frame by frame with clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation.
USA, 2018 / in English / Lynn Tomlinson / 7.5 min / Animation.

The Fisherman in Spring
A fisherman eagerly awaits the arrival of spring. Looking for any sign of seasonal change feels interminably long…. Until he spots a blossom!
Iran, 2018 / no dialogue / Seyed Hassan Soltani / 10 min / Animation.

Chess
This is a chess game that is played like no other! Pieces battle one another in very untypical ways leading to quite a messy (and fun) outcome.
Russia, 2019 / no dialogue / Alexey Pochivalov / 6.5 min / Animation.

Matches
As a seven year old boy is interviewed matchsticks come to life to represent the stories he is telling.
Hungary, 2019 / in English with English subtitles / Géza M. Tóth / 11 min / Animation.

Matilda
Matilda can’t get to sleep and starts playing with her bedside lamp until the lightbulb finally burns out. She finds herself plunged into darkness! She soon overcomes her fear and, using her torch, starts exploring her room in this new light, and discovers all the magic of the night.
France, Belgium, Spain, 2018 / no dialogue /Irene Iborra, Eduard Puertas / 7 min / Animation.

My Grandfather is Hiding
A grandfather explains to his grandson that he’ll have to take care of his flower garden after he dies. There follows a touching and poetic discussion about losing loved ones and the marks they leave behind.
France, 2018 / no dialogue / Anne Huynh / 7 min / Animation.

Waters of March
Waters of March is the classic song written by Tom Jobim and performed by jazz singer Stacey Kent. The delicately rendered animated drawings move at a rollicking pace transitioning back and forth from real to abstract images telling the ever changing story of loss and hope.
Canada, 2019 / in English / Elizabeth Lewis / 3.5 min / Animation.

Marguerite Tram
Old tram that nobody uses and its driver diesel. One day, an old woman rides the train and wants to go to a station that no longer exists.

 

 

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. NYICFF reels are popular with our audiences every year.  If you’ve ever been the youngest of the group, you’ll sympathize with the little tadpole who always falls a tad behind in the charming KUAP . Catching up on penmanship is the name of the game if you want to graduate from pencils in the winning doc  PEN LICENCE . Then little ones are in charge and grown-ups get to play when the hilarious FLIPPED reworks the script.

Multi-national  / In English / 65 min / Ages 3-7 

BELLY FLOP
South Africa, Animation
Jeremy Collins, Kelly Dillon, 2018, 5 min
One girl is determined to make a very big splash, but will she have the buoyant courage to pull it off?

SMALL SPARK
France, Animation
Animation, Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, 2019, 4 min
You’ve heard of night owls and bookworms? Well both perfectly describe this mouse, who must find a way to continue his exciting bedtime reading when it’s lights out.

KUAP
Switzerland, Animation
Nils Hedinger, 2018, 7 min
If you’ve ever been the youngest of the group, you’ll sympathize with the little tadpole who always falls a tad behind in the charming KUAP .

PIG ON THE HILL
USA, Animation
Jamy Wheless & John Helms; 2017, 6 min.
Pig may be up high, but his nimble new neighbor, Duck, shows how the most important spot of all is one next to friends.

PEN LICENCE
Australia, Documentary
Documentary, Olivia Peniston-Bird, 2018, 9 min
Brushing up on penmanship is the name of the game if you want to graduate from pencils.

6:1
Russia, Animation,
Sergei Ryabov, 2018, 3 min
Checkers may seem a game of child’s play, but can a losing cat nab a comeback?

FLIPPED

United Kingdom, Animation
Hend Esmat & Lamiaa Diab, 2018, 5 min
Little ones are in charge and grown-ups get to play when the hilarious Flipped r eworks the script.

MI ABUELITA
Guatemala, Animation
Giselle Pérez, 2018, 2 min
Like everything Abuelita does, her tamales are filled with love, especially when her granddaughter gets to help out in the kitchen.

PRESCHOOL POETS
USA, Animation
Nancy Kangas & Josh Kun, 2018, 2 min
Samuel serves up some poetic proclamations about life, as definitively drawn from the three-foot perspective.

BROOKLYN BREEZE
COLOMBIA, Animation
Alex Budovsky, 2017, 4 min
NYC’s biggest borough gets the Busby Berkeley treatment in this charmingly upbeat ode to industrial Brooklyn that will have you tapping your steel-capped toes!

RACCOON & THE LIGHT
USA, Animation
Hanna Kim, 2018, 4 min
Nighttime is a breeze for a nocturnal creature, but a spotlight shines in more ways than one in this Student Academy Award-Winner.

BE STRONG. BE KIND. 2020
Empathy allows us to understand and share the feelings of others. Some people have it while others… well let’s say they might need to practice. The stories on this reel hopefully inspire you to see/feel things in another way. They include the extraordinary measures a whale tries to help a songbird, two friends from Fruitistan who didn’t realize they weren’t supposed to like each other and tiger still waiting for his stripes.
Multi-national / in English or with English subtitles / 75 min / Ages 8+

Film lineup is subject to change without notice.

A Tiger With No Stripes
A little tiger decides to take a long journey in search of his stripes.
France-Switzerland, 2018 / no dialogue / Raul ‘Robin’ Morales Reyes / 9 min / Animation.

Apples and Oranges
In the land of Fruitistan, there live two kinds of people – the ‘Applers’ and the ‘Orangees’. Their preferences for apples or oranges divides them from birth into competing societies that belittle and disparage each other. Lines start to blur when two twelve-year-olds Tulip (an Appler) and Daisy (an Orangee) become friends without knowing each other’s background.
India, 2019 / in English or with English subtitles / Rukshana Tabassum / 23 min / Live Action

The Bird and the Whale
The Bird and the Whale is a story about a young whale struggling to find his voice. After straying too far from his family to explore a shipwreck, he discovers it’s sole survivor, a caged songbird. Together they struggle to survive lost at sea.
Ireland, 2018 / no dialogue / Carol Freeman / 7 min / Animation

The Little Doctor

Inclusion Makes the World More Vibrant
A little boy helps his blind mother experience an art gallery in a surprising and unusual way.
Australia, 2017 / in English / Genevieve Clay-Smith / 3 min / Live Action.

Good Heart
In one primeval forest lives a family led by a mother who is strict, wild and at times unhappy. Things change for the better when a puppy is brought home.
Russia, 2018 / no dialogue / Evgeniya Jirkova / 5 min / Animation.

Babou
The school yard can be a challenging place to just be yourself. Sometimes it takes one a brave soul to find the courage within.
France, 2018 / no dialogue / François Narboux / 2 min / Animation.

Athleticus: Course de demi-fond
Flamingos and a tortoise are having a running race around the track. Sometimes a little ingenuity can go a long way.
France, 2018 / no dialogue / François Narboux / 2 min / Animation.

Bearing
It’s tough keeping up with your mom!
Czech Republic, 2019 / no dialogue / Daniela Hýbnerová / 2 min / Animation.

My Sister
A child’s imagination can be stronger than any illness. When a sister gives her younger sibling a pair of special glasses we find out whether this is true.
Portugal, 2017 / no dialogue /André Miranda / 4 min / Live Action-Animation.

My Time
A 12-year-old girl has her first period in class right before giving a presentation. Out of several options she could take, the one she chooses might surprise you.
UK, 2018 / in English /Giulia Gandini / 6 min / Live Action.

What’s My Superpower?
Nalvana feels like all of her friends have some type of superpower. Is she the only kid in town without a special talent? The answer was right in front of her all along.
Canada, 2019 / in English /Justin Heymans / 10 min / Animated.

Beit Byoot
Jameela, a friendly girl wants nothing more than to fit in with the other girls in the playhouse. They bully her attempts to join them. That’s when she meets odd Yasmine and ultimately, must choose between true friendship and being an outcast or having fake friendships and fitting in. The ending may surprise you.
Qatar, 2019 / in Arabic with English subtitles /Mayar Hamdan / 7 min / Live Action.

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.

Magic Carpet Ride 2020
Jump on the PCFF magic carpet and get ready to ride! Every year we explore the cinematic wonders of the world from many different countries. No genie needed! The stories this year include giraffes giving some sound basketball shooting tips to an elephant, a group of forest animals having their own Tour de France and a squirrel conductor preparing for a nocturnal opera. This year’s reel will transport you from as close as New York City to as far away as Russia.

Multi-national / in English or no dialog / 70 min /All Ages

Film lineup is subject to change without notice.

Maestro
Deep into a forest, a gathering of wild animals start a nocturnal opera, conducted by a squirrel.
France, 2019 / no dialogue / Illogic / 2 min / Animation.

A Town Called Panic – The County Fair
Cowboy and Indian use time travel to figure out where Horse left the tickets to the County Fair. Sounds weird and confusing? You bet it is… and very funny!
France-Belgium, 2019 / in English / Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier / 26 min / Animation.

Athleticus: Gardien de gymnase
When giraffes offer you basketball shooting advice, you take it! Especially if you’re shooting with a trunk.

France, 2019 / no dialogue / Nicolas Deveaux / 2 min / Animation.

Last Day of Autumn
Forest animals gather one last time before winter arrives to have a friendly bike race through the woods.
France-Switzerland-Belgium, 2019 / no dialogue / Marjolaine Perreten / 7.5 min / Animation.

My Volcano
My Volcano tells the story of a difficult friendship between a volcano and a kid who lives on a volcanic island.
Netherlands, 2019 / in English / Sarah Pannekoek / 2.5 min / Animation.

Flipped
FLIPPED explores the absurdity of a world where the roles of kids and adults are switched.
UK, 2018 / no dialogue / Hend Esmat, Lamiaa Diab / 5 min / Animation.

He Who Tamed the Clouds
At the top of a canyon the old Indian Flying Shadow teaches the young Nayati the ancient art of smoke signals.
France, 2015 / no dialogue / Nicolas Bianco-Levrin / 4.5 min / Animation.

Slurp
A grandmother’s eating style inspires her grandson to become a problem solver.
France, 2017 / no dialogue / Florent Hill / 4 min / Live Action.

Inclusion Makes the World More Vibrant
A little boy helps his blind mother experience an art gallery in a surprising and unusual way.
Australia, 2017 / in English / Genevieve Clay-Smith / 3 min / Live Action.

Jules & Jett Fly a Kite
A brother and sister robot solve problems and have adventures together. And like with most siblings, sometimes they get into trouble along the way.
USA, 2019 / in English / Tony Dusko / 1.5 min / Animation.

The Imaginary Friends Shop
Edgar, a mysterious artisan who owns a little hidden shop, meets the sweet Lucie, a little girl with dreaming eyes and a curious request.
Italy, 2019 / no Dialogue / 6 min / Animation.

 

Passionate Pursuits
Collection short synopsis:
People with a passion so strong, they live, practice, or focus more effort towards their goal than anything else they know. Get inspired, do stuff! This reel includes a muralist that wants to inspire creative action, two Palestinian boys needing one more soccer card for their collection and a flamingo that gives it his all on gymnastic rings. What’s your passionate pursuit?
Multi-national / In English or w/English subtitles / 75 min / Age 10+ / (one scene full of profanities)

Film lineup is subject to change without notice.

Gunpowder
A man runs out of gunpowder tea and goes through one heck of a time trying to get more!
France, 2019 / no dialogue / Romane Faure, Nathanael Perron, Léa Detrain, Benoît de Geyer d’Orth, Pei-Hsuan Lin, Anne-Lise Kubiak / 5.5 min / Animation.

ATHLETICUS: Anneaux en gymnastique artistique
A pink flamingo manages a great score on the gymnastic rings…? Something is fishy here!
France, 2019 / no dialogue / Nicolas Deveaux / 2 min / Animation.

Maradona’s Legs
During the 1990 World Cup, two young Palestinian boys are looking for “Maradona’s legs”; the last missing sticker that they need in order to complete their world cup album and win a free Atari.
Germany-Palestine, 2019 / in Arabic with English subtitles / Firas Khoury / 20 min / Live Action.

My Letter to the Oil Men
Papilou is a fourteen year old boy in Nigeria that lives on the edge of a heavily polluted piece of land. His backyard contains thousands of liters of crude oil due to a leak in a pipe. It affected the food grown around him. It forced his now separated family to move to the city. Papilou wants the oil pollution to be cleaned up. He writes a letter to Shell Oil who is responsible for the pollution. A protest has to start somewhere.
Netherlands-Nigeria, 2019 / in English / Xander de Boer / 15 min / Documentary.

Katapult
During the fall of the Soviet Union the thirteen-year-old Nana comes from America to a small village near Budapest, where she meets Gau, a boy her age whom she befriends immediately. When her visit to Hungary comes to an end, the friends have to say a painful goodbye. Oceans apart, Gau hatches a plan to reunite with Nana… using a catapult?! Love has no bounds.
Hungary, 2019 / in Hungarian with English subtitles / Balázs Szövényi-Lux / 27 min / Live Action.

Comfort
You can outgrow the bedroom you grew up in but you really never leave it behind.
Australia, 2019 / no dialogue / Matthew Koh / 4 min / Animation.

Five Minutes to Sea
The mother issues her decree: before you get back in the water, you have to take a break and sit quietly for five minutes. For the little girl, these five minutes feel like hours. Time slows down all around her as she watches bathers enjoy a day at the beach.
Russia, 2018 / in Russian with English subtitles / Natalia Mirzoyan / 7 min / Animation.

199 little heroes: Cynthia from Burundi
12 year old Cynthia lives in the poorest area of Burundi. Both parents died from Malaria. Her days start with fetching water without having any breakfast. She walks miles to school daily to seek an education with hopes of becoming a member of Parliament some day.
Germany-Burundi, 2018 / in Kirundi with English subtitles / Lina Luzyte / 12 min / Documentary.

Spirit: A Martian Story
NASA sought evidence of life on Mars. That search begins with water, and the search for water begins with the study of the rocks and the soil. That was the historic mission of the rovers SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY. This is SPIRIT’S story.
USA, 2019 / in English / Stimson Snead / 10.5 min / Animation-Documentary.

 

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.

No classroom for these kindergarteners: In Switzerland’s Langnau am Albis, a suburb of Zurich, children four to seven years of age go to kindergarten in the woods every day, no matter what the weatherman says. The filmmakers follow the forest kindergarten through the seasons of one school year to make their documentary film “School’s Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten.” This eye-opening film looks into the important question of what it is that children need at that age. There is laughter, beauty and amazement in the process of finding out.