Knights In Newark
Armed with her vivid imagination, a young girl engineers a secret project on the roof of her apartment building to protect her immigrant family from the dreaded curse of the Knights in Newark.
Age Range: 12
Not The Science Type: Gitanjali
Gitanjali Rao was named TIME Magazine’s Kid of the Year in 2020 and, at just 16 years old, she’s already an accomplished scientist on a mission to create a global community of young innovators to solve problems all over the world.
Girls’ POV: Science on Screen®
This year Girls’ POV looks forward, and back, to celebrate stories of young scientists who are trailblazing creative ways to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. So whether you’re inspired by the historical tale of a 19th century fossil hunter, wanting to watch real-life stories of young innovators like Gitanjali Rao, or getting Sci Fi with social justice in the Knights in Newark, you’ll see that there’s no science to gender bias; these girls lead the field!
Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
It Was Only A Rock That Looked Like Someone
Adam and Steve are two astronauts with a mission: they have to send space samples to Earth with the help of a robot. The work starts to wear thin, especially for Steve. That is, until he starts to see very familiar faces in the stones of the planet.
She Dreams At Sunrise
In this heartwarming animated film, an elderly woman escapes her mundane reality through her dreams while her attentively optimistic great-nephew helps reconnect her to what she’s really missing.
Salvador Dali
Every day, little Orozbek has to walk long distances and a river crossing to get to school—because that’s where he can get closer to his dream.
Mum Is Pouring Rain
Jane is looking forward to spending Christmas with her mom, but she is sent unknowingly to her Grandma’s instead. The holidays turn out to be quite an adventure as Jane meets new friends—including a giant vagabond who lives in the forest. As she learns to open herself to others, Jane gives her mother the necessary strength to get back on her feet.
Mitch-Match Series #6
A blue-headed matchstick is the spark that sets a playful journey in motion with wild and imaginative adventures.
Short Films Two
No mismatch here, NYICFF favorite series Mitch-Match returns with a stop-motion volley for Short Films Two’s tales of growing up and making key plays to save the day. Add to this set the Oscar long-listed Mum is Pouring Rain, a richly detailed, Ghibli-esque world where Jane finds kindness and inspiration from surprising friends to help pull her and her mum through a tough time in the French countryside. Then ace the game with Orozbek, who must creatively bridge challenges in his native Kyrgyzstan to get to his beloved drawing lesson in the beautifully filmed, live-action work of art.
Opening Night: Where Is Anne Frank
Kitty is the most famous imaginary friend in history, created in the ink-filled pages of Anne Frank’s diary. When she suddenly materializes in the near future as a fully-fledged girl, she can neither find her friend nor understand why her home is now a tourist attraction. Aided by a resourceful pickpocket, a group of young refugees, and modern jeans and sneakers, Kitty sets out to solve the mystery. Her search takes her on a journey criss-crossing through war-era Germany and contemporary Amsterdam, where she constantly and puzzlingly finds Anne’s name on everything from streets and bridges to schools and hospitals. But Kitty can’t shake the feeling that her friend’s true legacy is being overlooked. Award-winning filmmaker Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) mixes a modern punk sensibility with time-spanning fantasy sequences and a Karen O soundtrack to create a poignant, urgent, social justice anthem by way of detective story for all ages.
DisneyNature’s Polar Bear
See it before it hits theaters! Narrated by two-time Academy Award® nominee Catherine Keener (Capote, Being John Malkovich), Disneynature’s Polar Bear tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today.
Pompo The Cinephile
If you’re reading this, chances are you like movies. You’ll feel right at home with Pompo, the talented and gutsy producer whose love of cinema is unflinching and unapologetic. One day, Pompo turns her uncanny eye for talent to her movie-loving but apprehensive assistant Gene, selecting him to make his directorial debut with her latest script. But Gene has his work cut out for him with a young starlet looking for her first big break and a legendary, aging, Brando-like superstar in front of the camera. It’s not an action movie, but Pompo’s breakneck pace combined with the high stakes of creative fulfillment pack in as much excitement as standard superhero fare. Add to that a slew of insider movie references and countless winks and nods to the filmmaking process, this hilarious and heartful dramedy has what it takes to fulfill even your wildest celluloid dreams.
The Strangest Girl in the World
The colorful world of high school, with its cool kids, chaos, and excitement, is just a pale backdrop for Melién. For her, true thrills aren’t found in dances, crushes, or acing exams, but in the mysteries she reads and horror stories she writes that transport her far beyond the tame walls of her bedroom. When she finds that the worlds she can conjure in her sketchbook start to become a little too real, she’ll have to learn to rely on some collective teamwork to slay some demons—of both the fantasy and mean-girl variety—who’ve tagged her ‘the strangest girl in the world.”
Centerpiece Spotlight: Turning Red
Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red introduces Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter—an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda! Directed by Academy Award® winner Domee Shi (Pixar short Bao) and produced by Lindsey Collins, Turning Red releases on March 11, 2022.
It’s a Summer Film!
Infatuated with sword-slinging samurai films, Barefoot and her two best friends, Blue Hawaii and Kickboard, study every scene, honing their directorial chops like another martial art. When Barefoot gets the chance to produce her own screenplay for a high school project, it’s both a dream come true and an enormous challenge—especially with all of the support and attention going to a competing student’s cheesy, soft-focus romcom. So Barefoot mobilizes a crew to shoot the film in one summer, guerilla-style. But just as production hits its stride, the sudden appearance of a mysterious, equally samurai-obsessed student brings dismal news of the future of movies. It’s a Summer Film is a love letter to cinema of all stripes, with an exhilarating mix of time travel, swordplay, and girls-behind-the-camera action that will keep you cheering from “Action!” to “Roll credits!”
To the Bright Side
Hop on this delightful omnibus of a film, composed of seven stunningly animated short films, and you’ll travel to China past and present, urban and rural, in realistic contemporary settings or fantastic mythical realms. Though the protagonists range from a family of rabbits, a boy doing his homework at his parents’ restaurant, or a child and his grandmother in the countryside, all tell a unique stories of love, challenges, and maturing to the beat of your own drum. The distinctive styles of each short equally captivate, beautifully hand illustrated through rich colors, ink painting, paper-cutting, watercolor, collages, and more to create affectionate interpretations of life, love and growth as seen through these gifted Chinese filmmakers’ viewpoints.
The Ape Star
Though Jonna’s home is filled with wonderful kids and a caring guardian, she can’t help but pin her hopes on one day being adopted. When that long-awaited day finally arrives, she learns that love comes in all shapes, sizes, and, er, creatures…like the enormous ape with the equally enormous heart who wants to take Jonna home. Director Linda Hämback (NYICFF 2019’s Gordon and Paddy) uses her own experience as an adoptee to share this hilarious and moving story through a powerful, nuanced lens. A warm, fuzzy, feel-good tale of love over greed, the joy in the things that make us different, and the life-changing magic of sometimes letting things get a little messy, The Ape Star is sure to win hearts
Kids Cup
The Norway Cup is the world’s biggest soccer tournament for kids, and tough teams overcome enormous challenges—on and off the pitch—to play in it. Tenacious Afnan worries about the fighting back home in Palestine, while introspective American Khalidi navigates showing respect for his Tanzanian father, even when they don’t see eye to eye. Yu from China misses her father, and Fred from Brazil dreams of getting off of the bench. Their goal is the same: to win, of course. But along with the distinct challenges they bring from abroad, they also meet new ones: unfair referees, bland cafeteria food (and lots of fish!), homesickness, and the sting of a missed penalty shot. But there are wonders, too: for some, it’s teen flirtation, for others, it’s the marvels of the bounty at the candy shop, and for some, it’s even the running water in the locker room. Above all, Kids Cup is about teamwork, friendship, and discovering that today’s goal is a new generation’s to define.
Note: film contains mild language and sexual references
I Am What I Am
Prepare yourself for the hallmarks of all the classic genres: I Am What I Am is a buddy film, a road movie, an underdog heartstring-puller, and even a little bit of a romcom. Our hero Gyun is a hard working kid with even harder working parents. While his parents toil away in the big city of Guangzhou, Gyun is left to his own devices in his small village, where he stumbles upon the transfixing Lion Dance Competition. Beneath the extraordinary costume is a powerful girl who gifts him with her stunning headdress and encourages him to pursue his newfound aspirations. Soon, Gyun and his buddies are traversing the enormity of the vast Chinese countryside as their own ragtag troupe. With hard work, athleticism, and a reluctant dance-champ-turned-fishmonger Sifu to coach them, they begin to outwit their competitors by harnessing their perceived weaknesses. The eye-poppingly bold and realistic CG animation that breathes fierce light into this rags to riches story will have you bouncing to the beat of the Lion’s drum.
SWOP
Based on the beloved, Emmy and NYICFF award-winning short Heads Together, this new series follows three wacky friends Sef, Wesley, and Marjory. One day, they discover an abandoned washing machine with mysterious powers: it lets you swap heads with someone else! This presents the three BFFs with a range of amazing possibilities…and side-splitting challenges. As they take turns trying on each other’s heads, they literally see the world through new eyes. Will their new perspectives help them discover a whole new world of possibilities, or get them into a mess? Well, the sayings tell us there are many sides to every story and two heads are better than one. Run, don’t walk (but please hold onto your head) to the slapstick silliness of SWOP.
Opening Night: Oink
Fabulously bespectacled nine-year-old Babs has the perfect life in the Netherlands, with parents who see to it that she has a lovely home and only the healthiest vegetarian meals on her plate. But what she really, really wants is a dog to call her own. So when Babs’ grandfather, an American with a curiously rootin tootin’ cowboy accent, suddenly appears on the scene, he just may be the key to her perfect pet. Instead, he finds Oink, a lovable if constantly, er, digesting, pig, whom he gifts to Babs. Yet Babs’ mother is less than thrilled and insists that Oink stays only on the condition he passes a rigorous puppy training program. Add to that her grandfather’s secret nefarious connection to the Sausage King competition organized by The Society for Meat Products from Fresh Pigs, and OINK is full of cheeky humor, porcines behaving badly, and people behaving even worse. It’s an uncannily realistic and genius stop-motion charmer that will have you snorting and cheering.
NYICFF Friends & Neighbors: Canada
Conversation-starting films from up north
These thought-provoking Canadian films take a deep dive into identity: what it means, and how it shapes our past, present, and future.
These thought-provoking Canadian films take a deep dive into identity: what it means, and how it shapes our past, present, and future.
NYICFF Kid Flicks Two
Kid Flicks Two brings plenty of fun, plus deeper themes and multilingual films with English subtitles.
Vivo
From Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation—the studio that brought you Oscar® winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and this year’s critically acclaimed blockbuster The Mitchells vs. The Machines—comesVivo, an animated musical adventure featuring all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Hamilton and In the Heights. Vivo follows a one-of-kind kinkajou (aka a rainforest “honey bear,” voiced by Miranda), who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés (Buena Vista Social Club’s Juan de Marcos). Though they may not speak the same language, Vivo and Andrés are the perfect duo through their common love of music. But when tragedy strikes shortly after Andrés receives a letter from the famous Marta Sandoval (three-time Grammy-winning Latin pop legend Gloria Estefan), inviting her old partner to her farewell concert with the hope of reconnecting, it’s up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to Marta, written long ago, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi (newcomer Ynairaly Simo) – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum to fulfill his owner’s wishes. – Netflix
Vivo Q&A
Join us for a free Q&A featuring Oscar®-nominated director Kirk DeMicco and voice star Ynairaly Simo of Vivo! We’ll discuss the inspiration behind the film, animating different locations, making a musical, and answer your questions!
My Octopus Teacher
After years spent filming some of the planet’s most dangerous animals, Craig Foster was burned out. He decided to put a halt to his career to reconnect with his own roots – the magical underwater world of the kelp forest off the coast of his hometown of Cape Town, South Africa. For nearly a decade, Craig went diving daily in the icy cold waters, ditching wetsuit and scuba rig in one of the most predator dense places on earth. The octopus he met and tracked became first his subject, then his teacher, showing him things no human had ever witnessed. Shot over eight years, with 3,000 hours of footage, My Octopus Teacher documents a unique friendship, interaction, and animal intelligence never seen before. Now streaming on Netflix.
Best of the Fest 2021
We’ve tallied the votes, and the results are in. These are the shorts with the highest votes, according to YOU. Watch these Festival favorites before we announce the winners on Monday, March 22.
Flora and Ulysses Special Event Q&A
Join us for a live Q&A with author Kate DiCamillo and director Lena Khan on 3/11 @ 1pm ET
This is a Q&A event. Stream Flora & Ulysses now on Disney+. Disney’s Flora & Ulysses is a comedy-adventure based on the Newberry Award-winning book about 10-year-old Flora, an avid comic book fan and a self-avowed cynic, whose parents have recently separated. After rescuing a squirrel she names Ulysses, Flora is amazed to discover he possesses unique superhero powers which take them on an adventure of humorous complications that ultimately change Flora’s life—and her outlook—forever.
Teachers, sign your class up here.
Presented in partnership with
Teachers, sign your class up here.
Presented in partnership with
Devenir
What if becoming doesn’t lead to an end, but instead is a process of being?
Mother Didn’t Know
Told through exquisitely rendered stop motion, this poetic fable illuminates a path to reconnection for one young girl.