With the Children’s Film Festival Seattle in full swing and flexing its popularity among the locals – the opening night screening of “Missing Link” sold out well before the event – there are a handful of feature films showing both online with a festival pass and in-person, this week, that should draw equally enthusiastic audiences.
Looking for your new favorite animated action-adventure? Interested in a politically-conscious documentary for your budding activist? Or perhaps you and your pre-teen are ready to escape into another fantasy epic?
The line-up of feature films is an enchanting list of diverse options for every age demographic.
Journey to Yourland
Peter Budinsky, Slovakia, 2022, 85 min, in English
In-person Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.; online Feb. 3-12
This Slovakian animated feature is certainly a trip, but one that youngsters are sure to find totally enthralling. Riki is a 10-year-old boy who has moved into a new home with his mother. His father is away for work, and Riki, angry at his absence, runs away, accidentally entering the parallel world of “Yourland” where science and nature coexist, incredible robotics work in tandem with humans and animals can not only talk, but hold government positions.
The film’s animation is not just stunning; it’s wholly unique. Though the plot harkens back to some vintage children’s films like “Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland” – and there is no story involving a child in a dream world without referencing “Alice in Wonderland” – “Journey to Yourland” is a fresh retelling with enough adult metaphors to elevate the content. It embraces its dark aspects without allowing them to overpower the overarching themes of the film, namely friendship and the power of love.
Recommended Age: 6+
Far Away from Home
Carlos Hernandez Vazquez, Mexico, 2022, 80 min, in Spanish with English subtitles
In-person Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.; online Feb. 3-12
“Every year, 19,000 children apply for asylum in the United States. The big majority remain in the Mexican border, waiting for a chance.” So reads the closing titles of the festival’s only feature documentary, “Far Away from Home” (or “Lejos de Casa”). The film is a heart wrenching entry and one that is sure to open the eyes of your impressionable young adult. The film humanizes a group of young kids waiting in shelters in Tijuana for their asylum requests to go through, eager and also fearful for their new lives in the United States to begin.
The children, who range from early elementary school age to nearly eighteen, are the heart and soul of “Far Away from Home”. Some tear up as they relay how they learned they were separating from their family. Others speak with steely assurance, hardened by the experience. It is a film that is sure to incite some difficult conversations, though ones that are all too relevant and important.
Recommended Age: 12+
Singo
Alireza Mohammadi Rouzbahany, Iran, 2022, 81 min, in Persian with English subtitles
In-person Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.; online Feb. 3-12
Catalog this one under female empowerment and animal activism. A young girl named Shafa steps in when local fisherman catch horseshoe crabs, valuable commodities due to their precious blood. Unable to let the creatures die, Shafa is determined to save them. But the cost of their survival may prove too high as her family becomes the brunt of accusations, abuse and threats of expulsion from the small island town.
The film and its protagonist admirably portray a strong female lead who refuses to resign her moral compass due to outside pressure. The film has strong depictions of grief due to parental death, marriage as a bargaining chip, some scenes of Shafa risking his life both on a cliff and out to sea in a sinking boat, but the overall themes of doing the right thing and sacrificing for one’s family make this feature a worthy watch with your child.
Recommended Age: 10+
The Magic Flute
Florian Sigl, Germany, 2022, 120 min, in English & German with English subtitles
In-person Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.
Closing out the festival on February 12 with its Washington state premiere, “The Magic Flute” is an intriguing mash-up of many things. A heavy dash of YA fantasy, a dollop of opera, a European special school for talented artists… teens are going to eat up the song, romance and magic in this one.
Set at Mozart boarding school in a remote town in the Austrian Alps, “The Magic Flute” finds young pianist and aspiring singer Tim making his way through high school politics while trying to hone his craft in order to win top billing in the upcoming production. Things are complicated when he finds a door to a parallel world where he becomes Prince Tamino, the lead of Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute”. Tim must balance his real-life ambitions with his venture as the fictional hero before he loses all in both worlds.
There is nothing that would scare younger viewers, but the elevated content and hints of romance would be best appreciated by young-to-mid teenagers. A good amount of the film is sung through Mozart’s opera, though it is modernized to keep the attention of its target audience. The filmmakers have made this material, once so inaccessible thanks to age or education or economic situation, approachable for a new generation of culture vultures eager to devour high art in an easily consumable format.
Recommended Age: 10+
