Age Range: 12

films

The Idol

Based on a true story, The Idol chronicles Mohammad Assaf’s remarkable rise from a challenging life in Gaza to worldwide sensation and symbol of hope. Whenever he sings, everyone within earshot stops in awe of Mohammad’s beautiful voice. A lack of money and access to instruments won’t stop the ten-year-old and his sister, Nour (with whom he shares a deep bond, a tiny bedroom, and an obsession with music), from performing wherever they can with their makeshift band. It’s Nour who recognizes the true potential of her brother’s talent, and makes him promise to share his gift with the world. It isn’t until years later, feeling stuck and with few prospects, that he finally sees his voice as a ticket out. Risking serious consequences, Mohammad ventures on a journey to audition for Arab Idol to pursue his dream and fulfill his promise.
films

Lou

Twelve-and-a-half-year-old Lou lives alone with her absurdly immature mother, Emma. She spends her days playing with her new cat, eating at the local Chinese restaurant, and spying on her dreamy neighbor Tristan, obsessively journaling his every move. Her mom has been in a funk lately, eating junk food in her pajamas, playing video games, and generally behaving more like a teen than her on-the-cusp-of-adolescence daughter. But all this changes with the arrival of the new bohemian neighbor, Richard, who ignites her goofy mother’s romantic interest and triggers and series of increasingly embarrassing episodes that test the long-suffering Lou’s patience and sympathy. Director Julien Neel has turned the French comic and animated TV series into quirky, mom and daughter buddy movie, with vibrant and brilliantly kitschy bubble-gum production and design and plenty of cringe-worthy, awkward comedic situations, as it humorously celebrates the bonds of female friendship.
films

Belle & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian is a timeless story of a boy and his dog–a story of friendship, courage, and loyalty–set against the jaw-dropping scenery and alpine panoramas of Haute Maurienne-Vanoise region of France. Sebastian lives with his grandfather, Cesar, in a vertiginous mountain village, where he crosses paths with a giant and dirty Pyrenean Mountain Dog who the locals have dubbed “The Beast” for allegedly killing their livestock. But Sebastian sees something good in the misunderstood canine and befriends the animal, renaming her “Belle.” Their budding friendship is put to the test when Nazis march into town looking to root out a band of resistance fighters who are guiding Jewish refugees to neighboring Switzerland. With their intimate knowledge of the nooks and crannies of the alpine valleys, Belle and Sebastian join the struggle and help point the way to safety.
films

Beatles

Considering themselves the Fab Four of Oslo, Kim and his three best friends attempt to harness their devotion to the greatest band in the world — the Beatles — into a band of their own. The change that seemed to embody the sixties is echoed in the boys’ own adolescent lives, as complications with girls, parties, protests, family, (did we mention girls?) threaten the bonds of the bandmates. Louis Williams as Kim leads the charming cast of newcomers with as much charisma as Sir Paul himself, while a soundtrack of Beatles songs captures the romance, drama, and playfulness of the times. Based on one of the most beloved novels in Norway and packed with the melodrama synonymous with growing up, BEATLES reminds us that, no matter what form it takes, all you need is love.
films

When Marnie was There

When shy, artistic Anna moves to the seaside to live with her aunt and uncle, she stumbles upon an old mansion surrounded by marshes, and the mysterious young girl, Marnie, who lives there. The two girls instantly form a unique connection and friendship that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. As the days go by, a nearly magnetic pull draws Anna back to the Marsh House again and again, and she begins to piece together the truth surrounding her strange new friend. Based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson, and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, When Marnie was There has been described as “Ghibli Gothic,” with its moonlit seascapes, glowing orchestral score, and powerful dramatic portrayals that build to a stormy climax.
films

April and the Extraordinary World

Paris, 1941. A family of scientists is on the brink of uncovering a powerful longevity serum when they are suddenly abducted by a mysterious force, leaving their young daughter April behind. Ten years later and without any trained scientists, Paris is stuck in the steam age. April lives alone with her best friend, a talking cat named Darwin, carrying her parents’ research in secret. Soon she is mixed up in a far-reaching conspiracy and on the run from government agents. Whip-smart and determined, she continues her quest to find her parents and discover the truth behind their disappearance. Extraordinary indeed, April’s world is a steampunk paradise filled with cleverly outlandish inventions and gadgetry, designed by Jacques Tardi in the same simple but stunning style of his iconic graphic novels.
films

Little Door Gods

Door Gods are traditionally placed as ornaments to ward off evil, but in Little Door Gods, these ancient characters come alive in a stunning 3D, cross-dimension adventure. The Spirit World is facing unemployment: with humans caring less and less about the Gods, the currency of belief is dwindling and their world is in disarray. The threat is very real for Door Gods Yu Lei and Shen Lu, who decide to prove their worth by entering the human realm. Their unconventional plan leads to some tumultuous — and hilarious — results. While Yu Lei seeks to conquer a ferocious monster, Shen Lu finds purpose with a small family struggling to keep their delicious noodle shop afloat. The fate of the ancient world (and an ancient soup recipe) is at stake!
films

the case of hana and alice

case of hana and alice defies genres by combining them: part buddy-comedy, part detective story, all wrapped up in a charming coming-of-age tale. Moonstruck Alice is new to a school that she soon discovers is consumed with the mystery of a missing classmate. Her path to make sense of it all leads her right back to her reclusive neighbor, Hana, and the two quickly bond over their desire to close the case. A silly and slapdash investigation ensues, sending the girls all over the city and into the lives of a carousel of quirky characters. As the mysteries unfold, so does a touching friendship between the girls, portrayed with as much authenticity as the photorealistic animation that accompanies it.
films

Stems

2012 Festival Grand Prize winner Ainslie Henderson (I Am Tom Moody) shares his eulogy for the short life span of stop motion animation puppets.
films

Love is in the Fair

Boy meets girl. Boy buys girl candy apple. Boy and girl kiss on top of the ferris wheel. Destiny awaits.
films

I Am Yup’ik

For the Yup’ik Eskimo community in Alaska, basketball is everything. When they travel across hundreds of miles of frozen tundra for a tournament, it is clear that their team spirit is just as strong off the court.
films

Ballet Boys

Ballet Boys takes us through four years in the lives of three friends: the handsome and talented Lukas, girl-crazy Syvert, and strong, stolid Torgier. The only boy dancers in a world of girls, they strive to get into Norway’s most prestigious ballet academy. Beautifully constructed, slow-motion dance sequences and life-altering auditions provide a pulse of drama throughout their journey, but the film is ultimately the story of their friendship, their disappointments, victories, first loves, dreams, and doubts, as they change and grow over this formative period in their lives.
films

Opposite Field

It’s easy to mistake theater seats for bleachers when following this incredible true story of a scrappy baseball team from Uganda as they take on the challenge of becoming the first African team in the Little League World Series. Armed with fierce determination and a deep love for the game, the team’s resilience is strong, even as each victory seems to be met with a series of unanticipated setbacks. Life off of the field is just as challenging, as many of the young teammates take on very adult responsibilities. But under the spirited leadership of their coach George and with each other to lean on, the team embodies an infections spirit that proves undefeatable. Cheering encouraged, and — sports fan or not — likely inevitable.
films

Landfillharmonic

The world generates about a billion tons of garbage a year, much of it ending up in poor rural communities like Cateura, Paraguay, where over 2,000 families survive by separating garbage for recycling. When a teen music program there can’t afford new instruments, a garbage picker named Cola fashions a violin from an empty oil tin — thus inspiring the Recycled Orchestra. With instruments made out of trash, the orchestra performs locally first, then regionally, eventually flying to Rio de Janeiro, something the kids could never in their lives have imagined doing. The film follows the young musicians as they reach even greater heights, performing concerts in the US, Europe, and Asia — even sharing the stage with heavy metal super-group, Metallica. Taking us into the homes and lives of the teenage performers, Landfillharmonic is a deeply moving story about the transformative power of music, and the good that comes from taking what others discard to create something of beauty and value.
films

Enchanted Kingdom 3D

The creators of BBC’s groundbreaking Walking with Dinosaurs 3D and Earth take us on a spell-binding journey through seven realms of Africa to reveal a natural world stranger, more magical, and more mystical than anything we might imagine. The films flows like a stream, with extraordinary time-lapse photography, sweeping aerial shots, and macro and micro lensed 3D propelling us from enchanted forests to the boiling edge of the underworld, from celestial ice-capped mountains and lava-spewing volcanoes, to crashing waterfalls and deep fantastical seas, as we experience some of the greatest gatherings of wildlife ever captured on film. With up-close-and-personal animal encounters and absolutely stunning scenery, this is an unspeakable beautiful film that presents nature in all her epic grandeur.
films

Maja

During her grandfather’s wake, Maja is certain she still sees him: by the tree, in the dining room, and during a certain magical song.
films

Two Left Feet

Mirko loves soccer, but when it comes to the cute girl he spots nearby, does he have game?
films

Daughters

When her mother becomes pregnant with a boy, 14-year-old Maple is forced into an arranged marriage. Unwilling to resign herself to this fate, she takes a dangerous path to freedom – but is she willing to pay the price?
films

Beach Flags

Vida is an Iranian competitive lifeguard. She is determined to fight to win first place at an international competition in Australia. But with the arrival of Sareh, as fast and talented as she is, Vida is faced with an unexpected situation.
films

Under Your Fingers

After the death of her grandmother, a young girl revisits the complicated history of women in her family from colonial Indochina to their isolation in transit camps.
films

Slaves of the Rave

Whether it’s a rock concert, an opera, a jazz performance, or an electronic show, we’re all just slaves to the rave!
films

World of Tomorrow

Oscar nominee! This tale of a little girl who is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future comes from acclaimed filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, SXSW, and AFI Festival.
films

Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas and Others

On the heels of his first feature (and Festival 2015 Opening Night premiere), comes Shaun the Sheep’s latest special! At the Country Fair, Shaun steals away with the Farmer and his canine companion, Bitzer. When he spies three crafty Llams making trouble at an auction, he knows his next great prank will be convincing the Farmer to buy them. But when the new Llama roommates get a bit too comfortable in their new home, things spiral out of control and Shaun is forced to oust the intruders and save the farm.
films

Beyond Beyond

Inspired by Scandinavia folktales, Beyond Beyond spans epic worlds as it follows young hare Johan on a quest to find his mother after she passes from his world and into the land of the elusive Feather King. To keep them safe from the King’s reach, Johan’s father has ordered them to life on the high-seas. But when a rocky storm separates them, Johan uses the opportunity to venture to the kingdom in an attempt to bring back his mother. Along the way, he teams up with some unlikely conspirators, and discovers the connections between the world he knows and the one he’s always questioned. Artful landscapes and exquisitely detailed characters give wonderful dimension to Beyond Beyond, but it’s the profound tale of love and loss that guides this ship home.
films

Long Way North

Though she is being groomed for proper Russian aristocracy, Sasha would much rather embark on adventures than attend fancy galas. When her grandfather disappears on his quest to conquer the North Pole, he becomes the laughing stock of St. Petersburg, and Sasha makes it her mission to restore the family legacy. Setting out on her own into uncharted waters, she joins a group of sailors as chilly as the icebergs that surround them. Together they face treacherous terrain and harsh conditions in order to find what’s been lost at sea. With unwavering courage and devotion, Sasha honors the path of those that came before her without losing the will to forge her own.
films

Satellite Girl and Milk Cow

Festival award-winning Wolf Daddy director Chang Hyung-yun has created a wholly original, exuberantly outrageous, sci-fi love story unlike anything before it. An orbiting, out-of-commission female satellite picks up a lovelorn pop song on its radio antenna and descends to Earth to try to discover who could be the source of such heartfelt emotions. On the way, it is transformed into the titular Satellite Girl, complete with Astroboy-like rocket shoes and weapon-firing limbs, while the balladeer in question — a loser twenty-something playing at an open mic in a coffee shop — meets the fate that befalls all broken-hearted lovers: he is turned into a farm animal (albeit one who can walk around in a poorly-fitting human suit). There is more: a wizard in the form of a roll of toilet paper, an all-consuming incinerator monster, a pig witch. But as crazy as this sounds, it all comes together into a heartfelt and wildly entertaining commentary on the possibility for human connection in the crazy, mixed up, semi-random, post-modern world we live in.
films

Mune

Plunge into a world of wonder, magic and mythology in this sumptuously animated CGI adventure about a land divided between the realms of day and night. As legend has it, the first Guardian of the Sun threw a harpoon into the cosmos and roped the sun to bring light and warmth to all of humanity. Then the Guardian of the Moon lured the moon to the Land of Darkness to provide a balance to the sun and supply the world with dreams. At a momentous ceremony to appoint the two new guardians, an accident seems to occur; the heir apparent is passed over, and the title Guardian of the Moon is bestowed on the waif-like Mune, a small and frightened forest faun who seems wholly unprepared to take on such a weighty responsibility. This news excites Necross, the nefarious ruler of the Underworld, a corrupted ex-guardian who decides to take advantage of Mune’s weakness and steal back the sun for himself. Now it is up to unlikely hero Mune and his friend Glim — a headstrong young girl with wax for skin — to save the sun and restore order to the world.
films

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran, is among the most popular volumes of poetry ever written, selling over 100 million copies in forty languages since its publication in 1923. The timeless verses have been given enchanting new form in this painterly cinematic adventure about freedom and the power of human expression. Written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), the film intersperses Gibran’s elegant verses with stunning animated sequences by Festival favorite filmmakers Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells), Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues), Bill Plympton (Guide Dog), and a host of award-winning animators from around the world. Set in a Mediterranean sea-side village, Kamila cleans house for exiled artist and poet Mustafa, but the more difficult job is keeping her free-spirited young daughter, Almitra, out of trouble. The three embark on a journey meant to end with Mustafa’s return home — but first they must evade the authorities who fear the truth in his words.
films

Phantom Boy

From the directors of Festival 2011 favorite A Cat in Paris comes a new crime thriller set in — well, above — the streets of New York City. Leo has a secret. While most believe his serious illness has confined him to the hospital, he has the power to leave his body and go on urban escapes as a ghostly apparition. Recuperating on the floor below is Alex, a police officer injured while apprehending the Man With the Broken Face, a nefarious bandit who has taken control of the city’s power. Together, they must combine detective skills and supernatural powers to stop destruction. A mix of film noir and superhero fantasy, Phantom Boy is both heart-warming and heart-thumping, taking the action to new heights, making Leo a welcome addition to our iconic skyline.
stay connected
about us
New York International Children’s Film Festival has presented thoughtful, provocative, intelligent film for all ages for over 25 years. Find your story. LEARN MORE
© New York Int'l Children's Film Festival