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With kids hospital as new partner, Capitol Hill children’s film festival returns for 2013

Kid critics of the Children’s Fest jury (Image: NWFF)

Mark your calendars for January 24th through February 3rd. There are films to be seen, pancakes to eat, and a pajama party.

The Northwest Film Forum’s 2013 Children’s Film Festival continues its tradition of programming excellence in children’s short and feature-length animated and live action cinema. This year there are expanded workshops and opportunities for children and families to interact with the festival’s filmmakers.


The pajama party on January 25th, with Caspar Babypants and the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast the following Saturday morning often sell out. There is no reason to expect anything different this year.

This year the festival boasts films from parts of the world that Director of Children’s Programming Elizabeth Shepard previously considered her Holy Grail: Latin America. Additionally, there will be films from locales new to the festival like Mozambique and Uganda. International isn’t in the title of the festival, but it is certainly at its core.  

Each day there are enticing titles for short film collections like “Animate Your World”, or “Caleidoscopio! Films from Latin America”, or “Made in Seattle” (Naturally) These play throughout the festival along with feature length films that are shown once or twice. One notable feature length is the 1924 film Captain January. (January 27th, and February 3rd) This silent film will be accompanied by Leslie McMichael on multiple harps, which Shepard assures us is a spectacle and wonder on its own. Tickets here

A big change for 2013 is the partnership with Seattle Children’s Hospital. There are three aspects to the partnership. 1) There will be five films made by cancer patients at Children’s interspersed throughout the festival inspired by the viral YouTube hit Stronger, which has seen over three million hits. 2) The festival has expanded its children’s jury to include patients as well as the usual 15 kids. 3) Workshop at hospital with two animators: Seattle’s Brita Johnson and British animator Charlotte Blacker. This film will be shown at the end of the festival.

“It’s going to be patient-led, said Elizabeth Shepard. “They’re going to decide what to do, and we’ll show that film at our closing ceremony. 

Shepard is very excited about Zarafa, which opens the festival on January 24th. “It’s a really glorious animated film. The art is beautiful, the story is thrilling — kind of a Lawrence of Arabia feeling to it, there’s so much adventure.” The French film won two prizes at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. It’s Jean-Christophe Lie, the same animator behind the Triplets of Belleville, which if you haven’t seen, see it. 

You can learn more at childrensfilmfestivalseattle.nwfilmforum.org.

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