Belmont World Film Family Festival Presents Kid Power!

Belmont World Film’s Family Festival presents “Kid Power!” the 13th edition of its popular film festival for children ages 3-12, on January 15 and 16, at the Regent Theatre (7 Medford Street, Arlington), and January 17 and 18 at the Studio Cinema (376 Trapelo Road, Belmont). Twelve programs, featuring some of the world’s top animated and live action films for children, will screen in their native languages with English subtitles, from such diverse countries as Argentina, Canada, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Uganda, and the US. Each full day is dedicated to a different theme, including magic, caring for the environment, and a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Martin Luther King Day.

One of the most anticipated programs is the 10:30 AM talk on Saturday, January 16, by Peter Reynolds, author and illustrator of such popular children’s picture books as The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color and owner of the Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham. The program features a screening of animated versions of his books by Weston Woods Studios and a book signing (books can be purchased at the event or brought from home).

Animated versions of best-loved children’s books by Weston Woods Studios also take place at 10:30 AM on Sunday and Monday. Sunday features the New England premieres of: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs and That Is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems; A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle; Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate; Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Melanie Watt; Same, Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw; and Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett J.Krosoczka. Monday honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Dr. Christina King Farris, Rosa by Nikki Giovanni, and Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine.

Another highlight is the New England premiere of the documentary Landfill Harmonic on Sunday, January 17, at 1:30 PM, about members of a Paraguayan youth orchestra who live next to one of South America’s largest landfills and whose instruments are made out of garbage found by one of the pickers.When their story goes viral, they realize their dream of performing live with some of their favorite heavy metal bands, including Megadeth, catapulting them into the global spotlight. The film is a beautiful story about the transformative power of music that also highlights two vital issues of our times: poverty and waste pollution (age 6-adult, $9).
The weekend’s other film programs include:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16
• Fantasia, the groundbreaking film released 75 years ago by Walt Disney that ingeniously combined animated imagery with classical music, features Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer’s apprentice, and the music of Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more, orchestrated and conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Presented in honor of the film’s 75th anniversary and as a kick-off to the Regent Theater’s Through the Decades Classic Film Series, a year-long celebration of the theater’s 100th anniversary. Prizes will be given for the best costumes after a parade around the theater! (7:00 PM, age 4+).

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17
• The Amazing Wiplala, a Dutch film in which a 7 year-old boy discovers a tiny man with magical powers in his kitchen cupboard. With his powers on the fritz, he accidentally shrinks the entire family (12:30 PM, age 6+, New England premiere). Presented by Dutch Culture USA
• Song of the Sea, the Oscar-nominated hand-drawn animated film from Ireland about the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben, who go on an epic journey to save the world of magic and discover the secrets of their past (2:30 PM, age 5+).

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18
• It’s Easy Being Green: Short Films about Animals and the Environment featuring award-winning animated and live action shorts followed by a talk by three 12-year old environmentalists from Lexington featured in the film Save Tomorrow. Other films include: Finconceivable, The Marvelous Musical Report (of the Marine National Monuments), All Over the Map, and Miss Rumphius (12:00, age 5+, New England premiere).

• Landfill Harmonic see above (1:30 PM, age 8+, New England premiere).
• Birds of Passage, a beautiful story from France about shy 10 year-old Cathy and her friend Margaux who is confined to a wheelchair with myopathy. When the duck egg that Cathy’s overly-enthusiastic father gives her for her birthday hatches and the duckling imprints on Margaux, the two set off on a secret mission to set the duckling free in its natural habitat (3:30 PM, age 6+, East Coast premiere).

MONDAY, JANUARY 18
• Imba Means Sing follows 8 year-olds Angel, Moses, Nina and the other members of the Grammy-nominated African Children’s Choir from the slums of Kampala, Uganda, a country torn apart by the guerilla war of 1981-86, through their world tour. Although lacking enough resources to even attend the first grade, the film shows how each child processes the joys and challenges of their life-changing opportunity to receive an education to achieve their dreams. (11:45 AM, age 8+, New England premiere)
• The Outlaw League, about a sensitive 12 year-old boy from Quebec who leads a campaign to rescue the town’s baseball field from becoming the town dump. (1:15 PM, age 9+, New England premiere)
• The Games Maker, about young Ivan Drago’s (David Mazouz, young Bruce Wayne in Gotham) newfound love of board games catapults him into the fantastical and competitive world of game invention, and pits him against the inventor Morodian (Joseph Fiennes), who has long desired to destroy the city of Zyl, founded by Ivan’s grandfather (Ed Asner). To save his family (Tom Cavanaugh) and defeat Morodian, Ivan must come to know what it is to be a true Games Maker (3:00 PM, Age 9+, East Coast premiere)

Festival sponsors include Hammond Real Estate, Dutch Culture USA, Belmont Day School, Solar City and Stellabella Toys. It is also funded in part by grants from the Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Waltham and Watertown Cultural Councils, local agencies that are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.