Age Range: 12
Flicker Lounge
Short Films Two
Girls’ POV Shorts
Heebie Jeebies Shorts
Flicker Lounge
Short Films Two
Heebie Jeebies Shorts
Short Films Three
Short Films Two
Girl’s POV Shorts
Heebie Jeebies Shorts
Short Films Three
Short Films Two
Boy
Using his own childhood hometown as a luscious backdrop, Oscar®-nominated director Taika Waititi delivers a delightfully playful, delicately poignant film that gracefully scales comedy and drama and is simply a joy to watch. It is 1984, Michael Jackson rules the airwaves, and eleven-year-old “Boy” lives with his kid brother and a slew of cousins in a small, dirt-poor community tucked away amongst the lazy beaches of rural New Zealand. Boy spends his days trying to impress crush Chardonnay with his “Thriller” dance moves and fantasizing about the day his father will come home from jail to take him on amazing adventures. When his father finally does return, it is not for familial bonding, but to dig up the bag of money he hid while running from the police and to set up in the garage with his gang of hapless hooligans. It isn’t long before Boy realizes that his father is not the combination war hero/deep sea diver/rugby captain that he imagined him to be — but a loutish, selfish buffoon whose opulent delusions are even more childish than his own. It is a coming of age story for both father and son.
Leitmotif
Fluid, expressive animation and a great jazz soundtrack bring Triplets of Belleville immediately to mind, as a lonely old musician tickles the ivories with his cat on his lap.
Prayers for Peace
This poignant animated memoir reveals the final thoughts of the artist’s younger brother, who was killed in the current conflict in Iraq. Drawn with pastels on a slate chalkboard, the materials used to create the film are a metaphor for the impermanence of life.
Dripped
A fantastic imagining of how Jackson Pollack came upon his “drip” and action-painting style: through devouring (literally) all the styles of the modern past.
Something Left, Something Taken
On their way to a forensics lecture, a young couple hitch a ride with a stranger who they slowly discover is none other than the Zodiac Killer — the infamous serial killer who has never been caught. As he veers off the highway to take a “shortcut” through the woods, they decide to leave evidence for the police. An award-winning dark comedy from the creators of last year’s Electric Car.
The Incident at Tower 37
A guard at a futuristic water tower intercepts a covert band of amphibian creatures trying to destroy the tower to rehydrate their planet.
The Dancer
This uplifting true story about orphan Satish shows shades of Slumdog Millionaire. Beautiful village and pastoral scenery and quick-cut montages revel in the bustling colors, sounds, tastes, and textures of India, while Satish’s indomitable spirit and joyfulness prevail against all odds.
Bunce
Celebrated actor, playwright, journalist and funnyman Stephen Fry writes and stars in this semi-autobiographical tale — a droll British boarding school comedy about a boy, Fry, with an out-sized vocabulary and taste for sweets, who befriends a small, shy, blond newbie.
Hammerhead
When a shark is spotted off a nearby beach, Boris seizes the opportunity to try to reunite his separated parents for a birthday road trip. But when the day arrives, he is disappointed to find that his biggest enemy is along for the ride — his mother’s new girlfriend, Lilah.
Journey to Cape Verde
An animated “carnet du voyage,” or journey diary, the film recounts the artist’s sixty-day-long trek through Cape Verde. With no mobile phone, no watch, no plans for what comes next, and only the bare essentials in his backpack, our traveler explores mountains, villages, the sea, a talking tortoise, goats, music, people — and an essential part of himself.
The Lost Thing
A boy encounters a strange creature on a beach and decides to find a home for it in a world where everyone believes there are far more important things to think about. This beautifully animated film comes from Passion Pictures, producers of past NYICFF favorites City of Paradise and Dog Who Was a Cat Inside.
The Bellies
Fat capitalists dine on genetically altered snails in this nightmarish tales of gluttony and greed.
I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone
The arrival of a new student in school changes everything in Leonardo’s life. This 15-year-old has to deal with the jealousy of his long-time friend Giovana while trying to sort out the feelings he has for a new friend.
Tales of the Night 3D
NYICFF welcomes renowned animator Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar) to present his newest film. Tales of the Night is Ocelot’s first foray into 3D animation and extends the shadow puppet style of his Princes and Princesses into the third dimension, with silhouetted characters set off against exquisitely detailed backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns like a Day-Glo diorama. The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, an Aztec kingdom, the African plains, and even the Caribbean Land of the Dead. In Ocelot’s storytelling, history blends with fairytale as viewers are whisked off to enchanted lands full of dragons, sorcerers, werewolves, captive princesses, and enormous talking bees – and each fable ends with its own ironic twist.
A Hard Day’s Night
Sitting at #1 on Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the best reviewed movies of all time, A Hard Days Night is “one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies” (Roger Ebert) and “pure infectious joy” (Kenneth Turan). Shot at the height of Beatlemania following their triumphant first US visit and Ed Sullivan appearances, and while the group occupied the top five spots on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the film captures all the exhilaration, excitement, and optimistic energy that defined the early Beatles phenomenon. Shot in black-and-white, mock cinéma vérité style, director Richard Lester follows the foursome as they run from frenzied fans, poke fun at managers, cops, and other establishment types, and generally revel in their own youthful exuberance. Much has been said about the innovative quick-cut edits, the hand-held cameras, cutting to the beat, and the film’s other lasting influences — but whether you care about that kind of stuff or not is besides the point. When else can you spend 88 minutes smiling and feeling so positive about life?