Age Range: 7

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Moominvalley

Tove Jansson’s delightful universe is back, premiering exclusively at NYICFF with all the Moomincapers you could ever wish for in three new episodes. It’s a battle to decide who’s in charge in Brisk and Breezy when camper and notorious mischief-maker Little My runs Mr. Brisk through a series of tests to prove his mettle. Next, leave it to Moomintroll to get into a muddle inadvertently following valley rogue Stinky down a foul path to thievery, only getting into more rot when trying to make things right. Finally, the Moominfamily must postpone their winter hibernation while Moominmomma (voiced by Rosamund Pike) keeps something under wraps in Winter Secrets.
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Cupids

This whimsical comedy love letter to New York’s essential workers follows a whole class on the last day of school as they scheme to find the perfect partner for their adored bus driver, Ms. Cheryl, and save her from a lonely summer without them.
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Mama Has A Mustache

In this fully-animated, wildly collaged documentary, kids ages 5 to 10 share their thoughts about how they experience loving, inclusive worlds that aren’t bound by traditional gender binaries.
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Battery Daddy

Everyone relies on attentive Battery Dad to keep things well-powered and smoothly-run, but when a field trip’s downpour hits, will he still have the power to keep his cool and save the day?
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Short Films One

Families abound in all forms in Short Films One, so whether you get a charge from the wacky humor that fuels Battery Daddy, are tickled by the fuzzy, feel-good inclusiveness of Mama Has a Mustache, or driven to delight by the kismet of NYC schoolkids aiming to make righteous bus connections in Cupids, you’ll have plenty of charmed chances to find your tribe! Full lineup to come…
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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.
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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. 
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Poupelle of Chimney Town

Poupelle of Chimney Town is the story of young Lubicchi living among the thick smoke from the chimneys of his isolated town, yearning to see the “stars” — to know the truth — his father always told him about. One Halloween night he meets Poupelle, a man made of garbage, and together they look to the sky as their adventure begins. Spectacularly beautiful, filled with inspiring performances and splendid music and sound effects, and produced at Tokyo’s famed STUDIO4ºC, Poupelle of Chimney Town brings laughter, tears and joy.
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Moominvalley

Tove Jansson’s delightful universe is back, premiering exclusively at NYICFF with all the Moomincapers you could ever wish for in three new episodes. It’s a battle to decide who’s in charge in Brisk and Breezy when camper and notorious mischief-maker Little My runs Mr. Brisk through a series of tests to prove his mettle. Next, leave it to Moomintroll to get into a muddle inadvertently following valley rogue Stinky down a foul path to thievery, only getting into more rot when trying to make things right. Finally, the Moominfamily must postpone their winter hibernation while Moominmomma (voiced by Rosamund Pike) keeps something under wraps in Winter Secrets.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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NYICFF Kid Flicks Two

Kid Flicks Two brings plenty of fun, plus deeper themes and multilingual films with English subtitles.
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NYICFF Kid Flicks One

Jump-start your little ones’ love of cinema with Kid Flicks One, curated to charm all ages and especially introduce our youngest viewers, ages 3+, to their very first screen experiences.
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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
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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!
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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.
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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.

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Umbrellas

Safe and dry, Kyna has her dad’s love and protection to carry her through…until her dog, Nana, needs a rescue.
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Athleticus: Sled

Puffins vs. seals. Who will win the big score in this slippy, slidey downhill race?
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Catgot

Colors and sounds share a sonic dance in this enveloping jam for the senses.
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Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic

Buttons and fasteners, toy ponies and kittens, bright action figures and straws that are bitten: these are a few of your favorite things to invite to this lively, stop-motion plastic farewell dance.
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Housing

A mother’s nest couldn’t be cozier or more colorful, but a little wingspan room is necessary to take flight.
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Cinema Rex

Jerusalem in 1938 is divided. Can the language of cinema unite a Jewish boy and an Arab girl on either sides of the screen?
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Downstage

Ballet isn’t easy, and 11-year old Aedan knows it. As he preps for his first solo competition, full of blossoming drive, young professionals share their own journeys of grit and beauty. 
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Athleticus: Guides

Go-Go flamingos fan out on the slopes to win unexpected style points.
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Sisters: The Summer we Found our Superpowers

Vega, 9, and her wild sister Billie, 5, are going on an overnight outdoor hike in the lush Norwegian woods. The trip is full of exciting climbs, silly jokes, and happy trekking until Dad pulls one acrobatic stunt too many, falling into a cave and injuring his leg badly. Unable to move, he asks Vega and Billie to get help. Anxiously retracing their steps, they know that everything depends on them now, as Vega tries to keep them focused on the goal despite setbacks, surprises, and Billie’s many distractions. They bravely face their fears, discover their superpowers, and find strength in their sisterhood.
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