Urban Vancouver

Reel 2 Real International Film Festival For Youth 2008

By Sarah Muff on January 29, 2008 - 3:05pm

Reel 2 Real Celebrates 10th Anniversary.
Cutting edge online media, "Old School" classics, and Cultural Diversity will be highlighted at the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth from February 22 - 29, 2008. Festival Director Venay Felton announced, "The festival will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary with an Awards Night and Opening Gala screening, Red Like the Sky (Italy) on February 22 at 6:30 pm at the Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour Street)." The movie is based on the true story of Mirco Mencacci, who lost his sight at ten years old but became one of Italy’s top sound designers for film. Seven of the awards will be chosen by youth juries who have taken workshops on Film Criticism. Visit www.r2rfestival.org for festival tickets or phone 604.224.6162

Cultural Diversity and Friendship are common themes of the International Features including the Canadian Premieres: Where is Winky's Horse? (Netherlands), the sequel to the much loved, Winky's Horse, about a plucky Chinese/Dutch girl; TKKG and the Mysterious Mind Machine (Germany), based on the phenomenally successful book, TV and video game series, the film takes you on a journey of real and virtual surprises; and in Paula's Secret (Germany), two friends discover Romanian children exploited by child traffickers. Other features include: U, a hand-painted animation from France that explores the friendship between a unicorn and a princess; Leaps and Bounds (Sweden/Iraq), an Iraqi teen survives a bomb blast, but is separated from his parents while fleeing the country; and Mukhsin (Malaysia), is a witty story of the awkwardness of trying to turn friendship into love. The Canadian feature, Breakfast With Scott, completes the program.

The festival has just confirmed the screenings of two Oscar nominees from Canada for Best Animated Short: Madame Tutli-Putli, an NFB production directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski; and I Met the Walrus, a tale of a young Beatles fan who interviewed John Lennon about peace for his school paper, directed by Josh Raskin. These films are also official selections at Sundance.

Favourite children's performer Rick Scott will introduce an "Old School" classic from the Festival's past ten years, Pelican Man (Finland) on Saturday, February 23. Scott is a member of Pied Pumkin, who recently won the Best Children's Recording accolade, at the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

World Premiere Canadian shorts: Spaceman (dir: Kaare Andrews); and Not Alone (dir: Anthony Couture). Canadian Premieres include: Translation Possible (Germany); Oblomov's Cat (Netherlands); Warming and Lines, both from Canada. Vancouver shorts: Julia Kwan's Smile; Caroline Coutt's DogBoy; Claudia Morgado's No Bikini; Izabela Bzymek’s Oma’s Quilt; Jody Kramer’s Lost Monster Hop; Anna McRobert’s Windfisherman; Adeline Huynh’s AnOther Western; Howie Shia’s Flutter; José Pablo Gonzalez’s For You, My People; Kevin Langdale’s Crank; Jason DaSilva’s Olivia’s Puzzle; Richard Reeves’ Sea Song; and Jeff Chiba Stearn's What Are You Anyway?

This year Reel 2 Real introduces a new interactive website, posting film clips and shorts created by kids as part of an "Online Festival." Youth can also upload their films, and judge or critique work online. Check out www.r2rfestival.org.

Animator/educator Gail Noonan will curate a retrospective of animation classics for the Weekday Matinée Program: Oscar winner Father and Daughter (Netherlands); and the Academy Award nominated, When the Day Breaks, an NFB production from Canada by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis.

Venay Felton says: “For our 10th anniversary, we have a superb selection of feature films and a collection of short films that are guaranteed to delight film fans young and old.”

The 10th annual Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth has an exciting total line-up of 48 films and 40 workshops. The festival is geared towards youth ages 7-19, and includes a comprehensive school program complete with a guide for educators, as well as weekend screenings and events for families and young adults.

All films will be eligible for 9 awards on the Opening Night Award Celebration, chosen by two Youth Juries and a jury of film industry professionals. These awards are part of Reel 2 Real’s continued commitment to the belief that critical assessment of films for young audiences should be made by youth themselves. The highlight is the Edith Lando Peace Prize, a $500 cash award for the film that best utilizes the power of cinema to further the goal of social justice and peace on earth.