KID
FLIX Film Festival partners with KIDS FIRST!
by Christine L. Pollock
Forty-four
movies in four days! The St. Petersburg Times presented the KidFlix Florida
International Children's Film Festival June 16 - 19 with a highly successful
offering of films and media workshops for the entire family. Muvico, the Fort
Lauderdale-based movie chain, hosted the festival.
KidFlix partnered with KIDS FIRST!® to create a diverse lineup of films that included animated titles, documentaries, feature films, and student-made films representing seven countries. Even a film created by an eleven-year-old film maker from Philadelphia made it into the line-up. Some titles were shown in both English and Spanish. The studio titles from MGM and Disney gave credibility to the independent titles which are virtually unknown.
Without
a doubt, the best loved independent film was "Jumping for Joy,"
a story set in the mid-60s of a tomboy who joins a boys' basketball team under
false pretenses – posing as a boy. She becomes a leader of the team before
a court order places her on the side lines, but that doesn't defeat her –
she has the "heart of a champion." As one attendee pointed out,
"People really were ‘jumping for joy' as they left. The film was
uplifting and showed areas where we are taking great strides in the country
in the equality for women."
Overall, the KidFlix Festival received "unbelievable positive exposure, and lots of publicity thanks to our partner, the St. Petersberg Times," according to Irene Pierpont, KidFlix Director. "I thought it was an enriching experience for kids and parents with the combination of studio titles, independent titles, and kid-produced titles. We hope to continue this for a long time."
