The 20th Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival, hosted by film festival founder and director Dan Bennett, took place at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater on May 9. The five-hour event consisted of short-film screenings made by or for children, followed by several Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. A celebration of the diverse medium of film, the Children’s Film Festival was a refreshing and illuminating experience for audiences of all ages.
The event began at noon with the opening program showcasing eight short films across a variety of mediums. Standouts from the first program include “Shanley” by Beau McCombs, an animated short about a disobedient egg and his family, “A Girl Takes a Walk in the Forest” by Kristen Lauth Shaeffer and Ro.R Shaeffer, a documentary on the making of a mixed-media film by a girl and her mother and “Stand Alone” by Soyeon Kim, a partly hand-drawn calligraphy animation following a young snake’s journey. To my surprise, there was also an AI-generated film that was screened: “The Light House” by Bahareh Amidi, which was generated to accompany Amidi’s poem of the same name. McCombs, Kim and Amidi took to the stage for a brief Q&A following the first round of screenings.
After a lighthearted start, the second program featured five short films that touched on increasingly sensitive topics. While the first hour seemed to be programmed for children, the next hour was for more mature eyes. “Lone Crew,” by UCLA Extension screenwriting student Gabriel Fontes, was a beautifully sensitive film dealing with topics of isolation, alienation and childhood suicide. Its story is disheartening yet important to tell, said “Lone Crew” producer Susllem Meneguzzi Tonani, who spoke at the event.
“Mom and Dad Live in Different Houses” by Brad Bischoff was another standout film in the second program of the day. The film is an artful exploration of divorce through the eyes of a child, experimental in its brilliant cinematography. Its use of nostalgic lighting, grainy films and frames within frames made the film successful in its portrayal of adversity through the dreamlike looking glass of a child.
The next program featured the film “Avni” by Tej Sisodia, followed by the presentation of the Daniel Koops Award. The Daniel Koops Award, named in honor of a young composer and contributor to the festival who passed away, is an annual award given by the Children’s Film Festival recognizing an outstanding film score. This year, the award was given to “Avni” composer Kisaloy Roy. “Avni” is a heartwarming tale about a bright young girl’s struggle to get an education in rural India. Its story was elevated by Roy’s score featuring soaring woodwind and reed instruments.
Following the award presentation, Emmy-award winning composer David Bertok was brought to the stage to discuss the medium of screen scoring. Bertok expressed the importance of authenticity in a world of AI and how music brings a unique voice to visual projects. When asked about animation, Bertok said that there is even more creative space for music to fill in the animation medium, as it is already accepted in watching animation that the audience is witnessing something fantastical.
The last segment of the Children’s Film Festival featured three throwback films, all shown throughout the festival’s 20-year history. The first of which was “Driver’s Ed” by Dana Koops, a comedy on a girl’s journey to get her license, made in Koops’s senior year of high school. The next was “The Mantis Parable” by Josh Staub, which is a fully self-made computer animated drama about insects trapped in jars exploring motifs of compassion and redemption. This film, made in Staub’s garage with nothing but a computer and a piano, was what launched Staub’s extensive career as a filmmaker at Disney, Staub said. The festival concluded with Anna Christopher’s “The Queen of Cactus Cove,” which was her film school thesis project on a girl’s pursuit of being a chess champion. As an homage to small towns, “The Queen of Cactus Cove” captures the essence of a place and its people in its humble 22-minute runtime.
These three concluding films brought home the coming-of-age message of the festival. Featuring films from around the world, filmmakers from all different walks of life and a wide range of visual mediums, the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival successfully brings people together through diverse perspectives in art.
