MEDIA CENTRE

Press Releases

----------------------------------------

Media Contact:

Duncan Hall
Deputy Director, BIFF Kids
T – 293-3456
F - 293-7769
E - deputydirector@biff.bm

or

Stuart Roberts
Butterfield Bank
T - 298-4610
F - 298-4610
E - stuartroberts@bntb.bm

----------------------------------------

October 5, 2007

 

BIFF Kids announces 44-film line-up

for fourth annual festival

33 international films and 11 films made by Bermuda-based children to be screened at Liberty Theatre

              The Bermuda International Film Festival and Butterfield Bank, today announced that 44 films will screen at the fourth annual BIFF Kids Film Festival, October 19-21.

              Thirty-three children’s films representing 19 countries will screen at the festival, as will 11 films made by Bermuda-based youngsters at the BIFF Film Academy summer film production camps.

              The festival will present two series of short films for children ages three and up, a narrative feature, animated feature and series of shorts for children six and up, a feature for children eight and up, a feature and a collection of short films for children nine and up – and a documentary feature for ages 11 and up.

              “We screened films for children three and up for the first time at our 2006 children’s festival, and they were so well-received we decided to add a second film slot for that age group,”, says BIFF Kids programmer Ralph Gonzalez. “We have called the two series Kindertoons I and Kindertoons II and there will be one collection of films screening on Saturday morning, and another screening on Sunday morning.”

              For the first time, the festival will not show a film for the teenage audience. “Teenagers are busy on weekends, and that may have affected the audience numbers,” says BIFF Kids programmer Alina Walter. “This year, we have concentrated on the 3-12 age group. Having said that, the documentary War/Dance, which won the directing award at Sundance this year, would appeal to teen and adult audiences, too.”

              The festival will open on Friday October 19 with the award-winning feature film, The Robber Hotzenplotz, the winner of festival awards in Germany and Russia. The rousing, delightfully silly adventure tells the story of friends Kasperl and Seppel, who set out to recover grandma’s beloved musical coffee grinder from the village’s most notorious thief, the Robber Hotzenplotz. That film will be preceded by the short film, The Case, by 16-year-old Bermudian filmmaker Christopher Frith, a graduate of the BIFF Film Academy summer film production camps.

              The opening night feature and short will be preceded by a costume parade with prizes for the best costumes. Children, and adults, are invited to come dressed in their favourite Hallowe’en costume.

              The film line-up also includes:

  • Kindertoons I (3 and Up), a series of age-appropriate short films for the youngest BIFF kids including four episodes of the award-winning British series Charlie and Lola, and four episodes of the entertaining and educational short film series, I’m an Animal.
  • Kindertoons II (3 and Up), a series of six award-winning short films for the youngest BIFF kids, including a penguin who goes sledding, a monkey who goes on a hilarious journey and a rabbit who leaves the comfort of his farm home to explore the forest.
  • Chickens, Elephants, Doughnuts and a Bad Luck Foot – The Best of World Short Films (6 and Up), a series of six award-winning short films from around the world including a chicken and rooster desperate to save their offspring from a hard-boiled fate, a rabbit with a one-track mind, and Arnie the doughnut, who goes to hilarious lengths to make sure he doesn’t get eaten.
  • U (6 and Up), a French animated tale about an orphaned princess who lives in a crumbling castle by the sea.
  • Little Heroes (8 and Up), a feature film about four kids who embark on a courageous expedition to rescue two injured teenagers in the Negev – the arid desert in the south of Israel. The film has won Best Film awards at festivals in Kenya, Czech Republic, Argentina, and the United States.
  • Around the World in 68 Minutes – the Best of World Short Films (9 and Up), a series of seven award-winning short films including capoeira aspirant Joao who meets his match in the form of a girl nicknamed Tatui, a 13-year-old Colombian rapper, and a 15-year-old girl with a crush on a classmate.
  • War/Dance (11 and Up), a profoundly moving and uplifting documentary about the historic journey of three children who live in the Patongo refugee camp in northern Uganda. They dream of a better life, and it begins when their school becomes the first from the northern war zone to make it to the finals of Uganda’s national music and dance competition. Winner, Documentary Directing Prize, 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

              The festival closes with the feature film, Wild Chicks (9 and Up), which has won audience awards at the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Leeds Young People’s Festival.

              BIFF Kids screenings will take place at the Liberty Theatre. Tickets for BIFF Kids will go on sale online at www.biff.bm at 10 a.m. on Wednesday October 10. The festival box office will be open Monday October 15 through Friday October 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, at the Bermuda National Gallery, City Hall, Hamilton. Tickets will also be available in the lobby of Liberty Theatre throughout the festival.

Click here to view previous press releases.