Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2020: A New Way to Watch

Update: 

The closing weekend of this year's Children's Film Festival Seattle, originally scheduled for March 6–8, 2020, was among thousands of in-person events canceled in an effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. It was one of many losses for both families and the arts community in this tough time.

Fortunately, the creative minds behind the festival have patched together a new schedule of online screenings for families. Those of us desperate for something different to do at home... well, we're in luck.

CFFS is screening one feature and seven shorts programs Wednesday–Sunday, May 13–17, 2020.

How to watch:

Families can stream the award-winning Kenyan feature film "Supa Modo" any time during May 13–17. Tickets cost $10. This film follows a 9-year-old girl who has an obsession with superheroes. She also has a terminal illness. This film is recommended for ages 11 and older.

The seven shorts programs are scheduled at specific times. Times listed are Seattle time (PDT) but screenings can be accessed from anywhere. Tickets are available on a sliding scale, $0–$25 per program. Passes to watch all shorts programs are available as well. Important: You need to register for tickets at least one hour before the scheduled screening.

• "Icing on the Cake" — This shorts program is for ages 2 and older and its films celebrate the magic of life. The program screens Wednesday, May 13, at 11 a.m., and Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m.
• "Valiente y Verdadero" — This program is the festival's all-Spanish-language collection, with both live-action and animated films (all subtitled in English). It's recommended for ages 6 and older and highlights themes of bravery and freedom. It screens Wednesday, May 13, at 1 p.m., Friday, May 15, at 11 a.m. and Sunday, May 17, 1 p.m.
• "Wild and Free" — This collection of live-action shorts from around the globe showcases kids and the twists and surprises life offers up. It's recommended for ages 8 and older and it screens Wednesday, May 13, at 3 p.m., Friday, May 15, at 1 p.m. and Sunday, May 17, at 11 a.m.
• "The Cat's Meow" — Films about kitties from 10 different countries make up this fabulous, feline-focused shorts program, recommended for all ages. Catch it Thursday, May 14, at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 16, at 11 a.m. and Sunday, May 17, at 9 a.m.
• "Home Sweet Home" —  This program showcases home as the centerpiece of every kid's life. Animated shorts and two short documentaries inspire different views of home and family. Recommended for ages 7 and older; screenings are Thursday, May 14, at 1 p.m. and Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m.
• "Earthwise" — Taking care of our planet and all its creatures is the common theme among animated shorts and one live-action film that make up this collection. Recommended for ages 8 and older, the program screens Thursday, May 14, at 3 p.m. and Saturday, May 16, at 3 p.m.
• "Lift-Off" —  These fun films will take families on adventures to outer space and to our outer imaginations. Themes include making choices, independence and the importance of finding home again. This program is recommended for ages 9 and older and screens Friday, May 15, at 3 p.m. and Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m.

Original story (published Feb. 24, 2020):

For 15 years, the Children’s Film Festival Seattle has brightened late winter with some of the best children’s cinema from all over the world. The festival has grown to become the largest of its kind on the West coast, with 175 films from 47 countries; 96 of the films are animated. While the primary target audience is children ages 3–14, good stories appeal to all ages.

And as we say every year, it's so worth seeing one of the festival's shorts programs or feature films. They'll completely blow up your kids' idea of what movies are — and not just what kind of stories movies tell, but how they're told and who tells them.

This year's festival runs Feb. 27–March 8, 2020, with most events taking place at Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill. The closing day event on Sunday, March 8, takes place at the Rainier Arts Center.

Tapas of shorts

This year the festival is taking a sort of tapas approach. There are 23 themed shorts programs — the festival's largest selection to date — so that families can zero in on the film experience that best suits them. Usually running about one hour long with between five and a dozen short films, everyone is sure to find something to their taste among these bite-sized treats.

Consistent with the festival’s goal of encouraging children to see themselves as courageous change agents, this year’s line-up features programs with age-appropriate presentations of timely themes like climate change, migration and gender identity.

There are also two special showcases of youth-made films: Nascent Creations (recommended for ages 11 and older) is an international collection of shorts selected by a local youth jury, with several of the filmmakers in attendance. The other special showcase, called The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival (recommended for ages 7 and older), features the winning films from a contest to create under-two-minute films telling the entire stories of Newbery award-winning books. The featured books will be for sale at a lobby pop-up shop hosted by Secret Garden Books.

Also of note is the annual Indigenous Showcase, featuring shorts by indigenous film makers of all ages. Inuit films are well represented this year, and there are two Lummi entries as well. The Lummi Nation is in northwest Washington.

Families can browse online to find these and other programs sorted by age (with gentler stories and subtitle-free visual storytelling for the youngest audiences) or language (there are programs for speakers and learners of French, Japanese, Spanish and German). Besides age recommendations and language information, online program descriptions include content advisories, previews and run-times to make planning very easy.  

Feature films

Some of this year’s seven feature films tie in with the topical themes of the festival. For example, the documentary “Microplastic Madness” (recommended for ages 8 and older) follows a group of Brooklyn fifth graders as they learn about microplastics and take action to reduce plastic use in their own school.

In “Zara and the Magical Football Boots” (recommended for ages 8 and older), a story about a little girl who lives in a refugee center, the roles of secondary characters are all performed by real-life asylum seekers. Despite the serious backdrop, “Zara” is a lighthearted movie. Like the other stories of childhood independence and family relationships that round out the feature film offerings, it combines serious issues and childish fun through a kids-eye view.  

Hands-on cinema

An interactive lobby play-scape will be open throughout the festival, providing an opportunity for kids to get their wiggles out before the movies.

For kids with a more focused interest, check out the festival’s workshops. An all-ages “direct animation” workshop will teach kids how to animate directly onto film without cameras or computers. At a second workshop, tweens (ages 10-14) can learn the tricks to making a great skateboarding film. The instructors will provide the skating, but kids are encouraged to bring their own recording device — cell phones are fine. There will also be a free full-day workshop for Muslim high school students that will present them with technical skills while helping them frame their own personal narrative.

Special events

The festival kicks off with “The Cat’s Meow” (recommended for ages 6 and older), a collection of cat-focused shorts from eight countries. (If you go, consider sticking around after the show for an unrelated but equally exciting dance premiere by local choreographer Amanda Morgan.)

Special Q&A appearances by film directors are sprinkled throughout the festival’s screenings, which wrap up on March 8 with a full day of events at the Rainier Arts Center. The day will start with a pancake breakfast and include a free screening of films made during the festival workshops, a surprise line-up of international shorts and an announcement of the Children’s Jury prizes.

The closing night's feature film, “Moving Stories,” (recommended for ages 9 and older) is a documentary about the power of dance to help children overcome trauma. This screening also includes a special performance by youth dancers from Spectrum Dance Theater's dance school, who have choreographed a dance to accompany the film.

Editor's note: Nancy Chaney contributed the May 11 update to this story.