12 Archives | Page 4 of 39 | New York Int'l Children's Film Festival

films

Living Large

Like most 12-year-olds, Ben’s life is filled with his many passions. At home, he’s a true gourmand, cooking up elaborate meals for himself and his mom. At school, he’s a charmer who’s always ready with a quick one-liner. After school, he fronts a rock band with his friends and video chats with his dad. But when the school nurse sends him home with a note about his weight, being well-rounded takes on new meaning. The bullies at school who tease them only make matters worse—in front of his crush, no less! Ben’s parents encourage his healthier habits, though Grandma has her doubts, and his friends just want him to focus on the upcoming talent show. He’ll need to quiet all the voices but his own in order to find out what truly matters to him. Living Large has all of the hallmarks of a classic teen comedy, right down to a cafeteria food fight and a wardrobe malfunction at the local pool. But this quietly empowering film takes its Freaks and Geeks vibes to new depths with cleverly animated characters and an original soundtrack (hip-hop! moody rock!) that captures the ups and downs of growing up.

films

Savages

From the director of NYICFF 2017’s My Life as a Zucchini, comes yet another deeply moving stop-motion story of a found family. Keria lives on the edge of Borneo’s tropical rainforest with her father, where aggressive deforestation has become the backdrop of their daily life. When an orangutan is killed by loggers, they take him under their care. Then another visitor comes to upend Keria’s life: her Penan cousin, Selaï, who is temporarily leaving behind hunting and gathering for reading and writing. At school she tries to cast him off, embarrassed by his not-so-smooth transition to modern life. But her father reminds her that “family is sacred,” so when he slinks off into the forest, she follows after him. It isn’t long before they’re lost, and Selaï only knows the way back to his indigenous home. Soon Keria learns the ways of her people and reconnects with her relatives. When the loggers threaten her new home, she is determined not to let them destroy it. The forest, her aunt explains, is like their mother—and family is sacred, after all.

films

Home Court

This 2025 answer to Hoop Dreams follows a high school basketball phenom on her quest for college superstardom. High school is hard enough, but Ashley must face a pandemic, a knee injury, and a lack of understanding from her Cambodian immigrant parents as she rises through the ranks of the local basketball scene. On top of all that, she is constantly battling contradictions: squaring her modest home life with her elite private school persona, reconciling a love of sports while her parents work long days at the family donut shop, and curbing her passion (and sometimes fury) in order to effectively lead her team to victory. Luckily, she has the support of the dedicated and compassionate Coach Jayme and the community of local Asian American basketball leagues that date back to the 1930s. Ashley might just have what it takes to make it to the big time.

Note: Like many passionate, hotheaded teenagers, our protagonist uses some harsh language.

films

A Boat in the Garden

1950, France. François doesn’t quite understand his stepfather, Pierre. He’s serious, but not cold. He’s quiet, but holds strong opinions. The two don’t know how to talk to each other. One day, François observes Pierre working in the garden on a massive structure. Some light snooping reveals Pierre’s master plan, a boat. Not just any boat: it’s an exact (well, almost exact) replica of Spray, the sloop legendary sailor Joshua Slocum took on the first solo trip around the world. Soon François is obsessed with Slocum’s story. Noticing their shared interest, Pierre enlists him to help with construction. So begins a yearslong quest to finish the grand vessel. Though interspersed with epic scenes from Slocum’s original journey, A Boat in the Garden is less a swashbuckling adventure than a tender slice-of-life story. Fans of Jean-François Laguionie’s The Painting (NYICFF 2012) and The Prince’s Voyage (NYICFF 2017) will recognize his trademark, brush-stroked animation. A score of jaunty accordion music provides the soundtrack to this mediation on a young man’s journey to find his father, and himself.

films

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window

“Sit down! Stop talking. Pay attention!” School is hard enough, but little Totto-Chan just can’t seem to be still. Inquisitive by nature, she’s constantly inspired by the world around her—and in 1940s Japan, the wonders of Western modernization bring new and exciting ways to traditional Japanese life. When her behavior proves to be too distracting to the rest of the class (according to her teachers, at least), her parents make it their mission to find the right place for her. Totto-Chan is no ordinary child, and her new school takes place in no ordinary classroom but in an old street car. Her classmates are equally extraordinary, each with their own abilities and ways of thinking. With a schoolmaster that affirms rather than tamps down their joyous curiosity, Totto-Chan and her classmates flourish in an environment filled with acceptance and freedom of expression. The coming changes to Japan will make adjusting to new life all the more challenging, but Totto-Chan, charming, chaotic, sometimes troublemaking, and often irrepressible, will be just fine as long as she can be herself. Based on the best-selling memoir of famous Japanese television personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Totto-Chan is a tender reminder the things that make us different are the very things that make us special.

programs

A Boat in the Garden

programs

Jippie No More!

programs

Centerpiece: The Legend of Ochi

films

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Gromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!

programs

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Preview Screening + Q&A

programs

FLOW with Filmmaker Q&A

A wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. PLUS: Stay after the film for Science on Screen<sup>®</sup>: Making Waves with Sound and Image, an exclusive Q&A with co-writer and producer Matīss Kaža. Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

films

FLOW

A wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet.

PLUS: Stay after the film for Science on Screen®: Making Waves with Sound and Image, an exclusive Q&A with co-writer and producer Matīss Kaža.

Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

films

The Wild Robot

Based on the beloved bestseller by Peter Brown, this epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. There she must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. A powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature, and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things, The Wild Robot features an all-star voice cast led by Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o. Also starring Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, and more. Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon).

programs

Special Preview: The Wild Robot

films

The Imaginary

Studio Ponoc’s The Imaginary portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger. Their fantastical adventures launched from her attic, lead them to discover a magical world of creatures and places never before seen until a sinister force threatens to destroy their imaginary world and the friendship within it.

Note: some slightly scary scenes might be intense for younger viewers

programs

Special Preview Screening: The Imaginary

films

IF

From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. IF stars Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination.

films

Swimming with Wings

New to The Netherlands, a young Israeli girl learns how to swim with clothes on.

films

Mum’s Spaghetti

MC Poppy and her beatboxing border terrier, Snoop, are the new kids in town—and they’re ready to make their reputation known.

films

Rice

When a young man moves into a new home, his neighbors notice that he’s in need of food and comfort.

films

Kilig!

A reluctant Filipino American girl takes a trip with her mother to Palawan to visit family. Their priorities clash at first, but there’s something in the water.

films

Canta Santiago

A young mariachi faces his first performance alone and discovers his brother has always been by his side.

films

In the End We’re All Music

In the microcosm of an indoor swimming hall, three women discover what it means to be strong in their own way.

films

Unibrow

When Leyla tries to fix her unibrow, she accidentally makes things worse. When the new girl at school offers to help make her brow smaller, Leyla feels her world begin to grow bigger.

films

Ceiba Y Sus Raíces Taínas

Disaster strikes the island of Puerto Rico as Guabancex, Spirit of Chaos, leads a hurricane. Only Ceiba can prevent catastrophic doom.

films

It Was Up There

The true and hilarious story of a couple who, while driving through an unpopulated New Mexico desert, see something unexplainable up in the night sky.

films