SCREENING IN THE BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM
Free Family Day Screening!
76 minutes. Not Rated (recommended for ages 9 and up). By various directors. In English, Portuguese, and Luganda with English subtitles.
In this collection of short films curated by the New York International Children’s Film Festival, Black stories take the spotlight to highlight films that share the joy, determination, resilience, and complexity of being Black and young. Explore a range of genres and styles in a program that spans the globe.
These films are recommended for ages 9 and up.
The program:
Comic Escape: United States, live action, 15 minutes. Directed by Alphonso McAuley. In English. Synopsis: A young boy finds a comic book that changes his reality.
Cupids: United States, live action, 10 minutes. Directed by Zoey Martinson. In English. Synopsis: This whimsical comedy love letter to New York’s essential workers follows a whole class on the last day of school as they scheme to find the perfect partner for their adored bus driver, Ms. Cheryl, and save her from a lonely summer without them.
Generation Impact: The Coder: United States, documentary, 7 minutes. Directed by Samantha Knowles. In English: Synopsis: Jay Jay Patton was only 13 when she designed and built an app to help kids connect with their incarcerated parents, inspired by her own experience. Now she is creating a coding academy to help other kids do the same.
My Name is Maluum: Brazil, animation, 8 minutes. Directed by Luisa Copetti. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Synopsis: Maalum comes from a home surrounded by love and Afro-centered references. When her classmates tease her about her name, Maalum discovers the lovely legacy of her name and ancestry.
The Night I Left America: Uganda/United States, live action, 14 minutes. Directed by Laki Karavias. In English and Luganda with English subtitles. Synopsis: While anxiously awaiting the results of his mother’s visa renewal request, a teenage boy living in Texas conjures memories of his life in Uganda.
Room Rodeo: United States, live action, 14 minutes. Directed by Daniel Kayamba. In English. Synopsis: Grounded and with a last-minute school project due, Jamil takes matters into his own hands in order to prove he is the great grandson of a legendary Black cowboy.
Wolf and Cub: United States, animation, 8 minutes. Directed by Marvin Bynoe. In English. Synopsis: A father and son cross a world of imagination in order to return a bag of their mother’s forgotten lunch.