I'm going to post reviews for the six presentations I saw at NYICFF this weekend (MOOMIN VALLEY, KENSUKE'S KINGDOM, TOBY ALONE, SHORTS FOR TOTS, ROSI AND THE STONE TROLL and KUNG FU LION) but I do want to repost on a few things.
There is nothing like walking through the door one of your favorite festivals and instantly hearing your name called and then being asked where you were last weekend. It put a huge smile on my face and made me certain NYICFF truly is a place one can call home- more so when I was "yelled" at for putting family before the fest. In all seriousness the people running NYICFF rock. God bless every one of them.
I adore that the festival doesn't shy away from tough moments. There was a moment in KENSUKE'S KINGDOM that is in it's way tougher than the death of Bambi's mom- and it caused the audience to audibly gasp as one...and no one freaked out. It's one of the most crushing moments in film this year so far and no one batted an eye, they just went with it. Kudos to the audience- and even more to the programmers who know kids can handle moments like that.
Does anyone know how we can get MOOMINVALLEY picked up in the US? I was talking to Nina Guralnick about the Moomins in general and the series as part of it and she has said that the audience totals for the screenings go up every year but no one in the US seems to want to run the series.
If anyone saw me getting emotional in the lobby between the first two films today it was because I was watching all the kids running around and having the time of their lives. The sheer joy on the faces of the kids, one of which who was a dead ringer for my mom when she was that age, was over powering. If anyone needs to know why NYICFF needs to exist for another 225 years look to the smiles on the faces of the kids.
During the opening minutes of the SHORTS FOR TOTS a couple brought their kids into the theater. One was three or four. The other was younger. It was the youngest one's first time at the movies. He was nigh impossible to move up the stairs as he was enraptured by the giant images on the screen. He then sat bug eyed on his father's lap staring at the screen. When it was done I heard dad say to his wife that they now had an answer as to whether he would sit still in a movie.
AT the end of ROSI AND THE STONE TROLL three young girls in "fancy" dresses were dancing on the landing at the top of the stairs to the music of the end credits. It was a grand ball of the highest order.
A random note: If you are seeing TOBY ALONE be aware it ends on a cliff hanger. I mention this because the audience yesterday groaned. While the series is finished and can be seen in French, the English language version is still being worked on. Getting the rest of the series (23 more episodes that play out over 10 hours) to an American outlet is being negotiated-but is expected to happen at the end of this year
With one more weekend of the festival I need to stress that the festival is for everyone. Adults are more than welcome for all the films. I say this because in addition to parents, there were several adult animation nerds and people who learned to love the fest from going over the last 25 years with their kids when they were young. Their kids are "too old" or "too cool" to go, but the parents "aren't" so were seeing things like ROBOT DREAMS just to annoy their kids by seeing them first.
I'll have more when I go back through my chicken scrawled notes and back to the festival next weekend
Tickets for the festival's can be had here.
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