Last year was Portland’s first international film festival for children’s films, and it was so much fun that it’s now an annual event! Come see films from Europe, Australia, South America, Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Six different programs for ages 3-15 will be featured, including meetings with the filmmakers. A local animator, Leah Maldonado, will also be on hand. Maldonado worked with students at Sunnyside Environmental Middle School to animate and direct a video; aspiring animators can share ideas and talk shop with her. Each child who attends the festival will receive a ballot to vote on audience choice awards for the films.

Saturday Feb 4, 10:15am; Sunday Feb 5, 12pm

Hollywood Theatre
4122 NE Sandy Blvd
503-493-1128
pdxkidsfilmfest.com
Tickets on sale two weeks before the festival at the Hollywood Theatre box office and online.
Individual show tickets $9 each or $45 for a full festival pass.

Top Picks!

Kid Flix 1 (ages 2+)

Saturday Feb 4, 10:15am
Come in your pajamas for the first screening of the festival! This takes Saturday morning cartoons to a whole new level. Delicious local breakfast treats will be on hand for a cozy morning of watching delightful animated films. Each movie is less than nine minutes long, perfect for the youngest guests and their parents.

The Red Balloon (all ages)

Saturday Feb 4, 12pm
The Hollywood Theatre is known for its classic films, and The Red Balloon is true classic. Delight your whole family with the showing of this 1956 Academy Award-Winning classic about a young boy’s adventures through Paris with a magical red balloon. Just 35 minutes long, the film stars the director’s own son as Pascal, the boy who finds the balloon.

Kid Flix 2 (ages 8+)

Sunday Feb 5, 1:15 pm
This selection of films was part of the New York International Children’s Film Festival and includes many Jury-Award and Audience-Award winners. Don’t miss My Grandfather Was A Cherry Tree, by twin film makers Olga and Tatiana Poliektova from St. Petersburg, Russia . The story was based on a book by Italian writer Angela Nanetti and depicts a young boy who learns the importance of his family’s cherry tree. Kid Flix 2 includes both live-action and animated shorts with rich storylines and emotional depth.

Girls Rule! (ages 9+)

Sunday Feb 5, 2:30pm
This program features shorts that star young women and girls. Don’t miss Munya in Me, directed by Mascha Halberstad and written by Fiona van Heemstra, a Dutch film with English subtitles which follows a 10-year-old girl who is bullied on her daily excursions to a supermarket until she decides to embrace who she is. A female filmmaker will hold a Q & A session after the screening. Bring your daughters AND your sons to see some empowering film!