KidsBestFest, in its 15th year, is dedicated to films unlikely to be found on television, including foreign films. Youth Film was added a few years ago and includes films made by youth, including local youth.
Wallace and Gromit: The-Wrong Trousers
AMHERST—If your children need some “fresh hare” during the winter school vacation, Bugs Bunny could do the trick.
He’ll be part of the line up of screenings at Amherst Cinema.
At the same time, The Northampton Arts Council will host the KidsBestFest/Youth Film at the Academy of Music in Northampton from Monday-Saturday, Feb. 18-23, school vacation for many students. (Vacation events at the cinema run Monday through Friday.)
The KidsBestFest/Youth Film gives youth something to do during vacation week and is a way “to develop a young film audience,” said Bob Cilman, director of the Northampton Arts Council. “We love showing kids films they’ll never see on American television,” he added. “This is a way for them to be introduced to that (foreign film) genre.”
Subtitles will be read aloud for the audiences.
KidsBestFest, in its 15th year, is dedicated to films unlikely to be found on television, including foreign films. Youth Film was added a few years ago and includes films made by youth, including local youth.
Featured on Monday will be “Charlie Chaplin Circus,” which won Chaplin a special Oscar in 1928, then lay unseen for 42 years. It was reissued in 1970, with a new musical score by Chaplin himself.
“Wallace & Gromit in the Wrong Trousers” will follow. This Oscar-winner for "Best Animated Short" works both as a hilarious parody of film noir and as an exciting, action-packed adventure in its own right, combining skillful visual design and superb animation with inventive, witty storytelling.
On Tuesday viewers will see “Tales of the Night,” renowned animation auteur Michel Ocelot's first foray into 3D animation. The film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale including Tibet, medieval Europe, an Aztec kingdom, the African plains and the Land of the Dead. In Ocelot's storytelling, history blends with fairytale as viewers are whisked off to enchanted lands full of dragons, werewolves, captive princesses, sorcerers and enormous talking bees; each fable ends with its own ironic twist.
On the schedule for Wednesday is “The Great Bear,” featuring 11-year-old Jonathan who usually spends his vacations alone with his grandfather who lives on the edge of a vast forest populated by mythical animals. But his younger sister, Sophie, joins him and is kidnapped by a giant, 1,000-year-old bear. Jonathan has to venture into the heart of the forest to confront the strange beings that dwell there and rescue his sister. "The Great Bear" is Esben Toft Jacobsen's feature film debut.
“Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods” will be shown on Thursday. It centers on when little Wickie finally will become a real Viking and his adventures.On Friday, “Thief of Bagdad” will take viewers to ancient Bagdad, where various adventures lead to a suspenseful ride on a magic carpet and a race against time to save the king and his beloved.
Shorts that play before every film are SAF Cakovec Croatian films made by children.
In Amherst, Amherst Cinema will be showing “The All Bugs Revue” starring that Wascally Wabbit, Bugs Bunny, featured in classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The revue will be shown Monday through Friday at 2 p.m.; the same set of cartoons will be show each day. Tickets are $3 per person and are available at the door or online at www.amherstcinema.org.
KidsBestFest runs Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $3 at the door only.
Youth Film will take place at noon on Saturday with tickets $3 for participants 18 and older and free for those under 18.
Amherst Cinema, located at 28 Amity St., is a member-supported, non-profit, independent theater that opened with support from the community in 2006 and now has more than 2,700 members. “We show 125-plus films a year. Most of them are gems that would never see the light of day at the Cineplex’s,” said Carol M. Johnson, executive director of Amherst Cinema.
For more information, call the Northampton Arts Council at (413) 587-1269 or Amherst Cinema at (413) 253-2547.