Arts & Leisure

Midd festival hosts film day for kids and families

'STORM BOY' WILL screen at the Middlebury Marquis on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m., during the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival Kids and Family Day.

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival will once again hold Kids and Family Day on Wednesday, Aug. 21 — the day before the festival officially begins. MNFF will partner with the Marquis Theatre in Middlebury for this day of films and fun.
MNFF will offer three outstanding family friendly films from all over the world, with screenings at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Marquis. First up, “Storm Boy,” a stirring Australian drama based on the book of the same name.  Screening next, “Liyana,” an award winning film from Swaziland that beautifully combines drama and documentary.  Rounding out the day will be the sensational “Tito and the Birds,” an animated gem from Brazil.
“We received such a positive response last year to our first MNFF Kids & Family Day,” noted Lloyd Komesar, Festival Producer.  “So we searched diligently for a new trio of films this year that would equally entertain and engage the kids and families that come to the Marquis Theatre for this lively day of movies and activities.  All the films are really well done and very distinctive.  Here’s to Ben Wells and his team at the Marquis for hosting Kids & Family Day and our thanks as well to our presenting sponsor, Maple Landmark, for their support and involvement.”  
Between 12-1 p.m., young filmmakers can enter the “Chase Scene Challenge,” a movie making contest hosted by local media maker, Kurt Broderson, from Middlebury Community TV, who will show what it takes to make a dynamic and exciting chase scene.  Kids can then check out a camera from MCTV at Ilsley Library and film a 30 second to 1 minute chase scene with family and friends. Editing assistance will be available in the Ilsley Public Library that afternoon.  The finished “chase scenes” will play on the cafe screen at the Marquis Theatre and the winning entry will be broadcast on MCTV and receive four passes to an upcoming movie at the Marquis Theatre. 
Tickets to each film during Kids and Family Day are free for those under 8 years old, $5 for those ages 8-17 and $10 for 18 years or older. Seating will be on a first come, first seated basis.  All tickets will be sold at the Marquis Theatre on the day of the show, along with popcorn, cookies, drinks and a special K&F Day cafe menu.
 

FILMS
Storm Boy – 10am / 109m / Ages 8+
When Michael Kingley (played by Geoffrey Rush), a successful retired businessman, unearths images from his past, he remembers his long-forgotten childhood on an isolated coastline. He recounts how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr. Percival. Their adventures and bond had a profound effect on the whole community, proving that sympathy is the most reciprocal emotion. Based on the beloved Australian children’s book, Storm Boy tells a timeless story of unusual and unconditional friendship.
 
Liyana – 1pm / 77m / Ages 10+
Liyana is a marvelous blend of documentary and animated drama whose narrators are  five children in the Kingdom of Eswatini in Swaziland. They shape their individual traumas into an original fable about a girl named Liyana who embarks on a perilous quest to save her young twin brothers.  Liyana becomes a symbol of their collective experience, an icon of resilience. Relying heavily on visual storytelling, the film brilliantly illuminates the children’s real lives while animating Liyana’s.
 
Tito and the Birds – 4pm / 73m / Ages 12+
Astonishing visuals combine with impassioned political allegory in this glorious Brazilian animated film. Tito and the Birds finds the world gripped by an epidemic: a virus that paralyzes people with fear, shrinks them into blobs and eventually turns them into rocks. Middle school whiz kid Tito and his good friend Rosa set out to find a cure, inspired by Tito’s father’s strength and courage. Tito and the Birds is a joy to watch and a challenge to what many of us take for granted. The film is in Portuguese with English subtitles.

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