KIDS FIRST! Radio

The USA Film Festival announces a Salute to Mallory Lewis at the
24th Annual KidFilm® Festival – January 19-20, 2008
DALLAS – The USA Film Festival’s 24th annual KidFilm® Festival announces the schedule of events taking place Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20, 2008 at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas.
Salute to Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop, Saturday, January 19th at 2:30 pm
Honoring the legacy of her mother, the legendary Shari Lewis, award-winning children’s entertainer Mallory Lewis brings a new puppet (Giggles) to a new generation – with some help from an old friend — the beloved Lambchop!  Mallory brings learning through music to young audiences through her new Phonics 4 Babies program.  KidFilm will feature a live performance by Mallory Lewis and Lambchop, and kids will also receive a free DVD.  Program presented with support and partnership from KIDS FIRST! a program of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media.  (Showtime = Saturday, January 19, 2:30pm.)
The USA Film Festival is a 38-year-old Dallas-based 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the recognition and promotion of excellence in the film and video arts.  Year-round events include KidFilm; the official Oscar Night® America Dallas; monthly screenings; special programs and premieres; and the USA Film Festival, held each spring.  Throughout the year, the Festival presents a variety of membership, exhibition, educational and cultural programs designed to bring together film enthusiasts and filmmakers for a “live cinema” experience.

Congratulations to the following filmmakers. Their films were selected to screen at the Beloit International Film Festival in January. Dates are January 16-20^th. Ranny and I will be at the festival and we hope to see you there!  www.beloitfilmfest.com
Frank Eakin, Bracelet from Bordeaux
Frank and Jeff Kerr, The Child King             
Janine Deboisblanc, Her Best Move
Sheri Bryant, Labou
 

Her Best Move has also been selected to screen at the Tiburon Film Festival, March 13-21 in Tiburon, CA. www.tiburonfilmfestival.com
The USA Film Festival and their children’s festival KidFilm will host Barney’s anniversary party January 19-20^th in Dallas, Texas and OUR favorite celebrity,  Mallory Lewis will be there as well! www.usafilmfestival.com

For a complete list of film festival screenings, go to www.kidsfirst.org/fest

KIDS FIRST! FILM FESTIVAL WINS “BEST NON-CREDIT PROGRAM” AWARD AT THE WESTERN ASSOCIATION OF SUMMER SESSION ADMINISTRATORS CONFERENCE During the recent annual conference of the Western Association of Summer Session Administrators (WASSA) held in November on Maui, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Outreach College was honored with the “Best Non-Credit Program” award for the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival.  The Western Association of Summer Session Administrators’ (WASSA)  mission is to exchange information regarding summer session programs and administrative practices, with the annual meeting as the principal forum for the exchange of ideas and information.   

The KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, a project of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media (CQCM), is the largest traveling children’s film festival in the world, providing films that are free of racial, ethnic, gender or religious bias; inappropriate content; and condescension towards children. Local organizations and educational institutions plug into the national network to sponsor festivals and related programming tailored to their constituents and communities. The University of Hawai‘i KIDS FIRST! Film Festival made its debut during June and July of 2007, with the second Festival slated for Summer 2008.  In honor of Women’s History Month, the University of Hawai‘i KIDS FIRST! Film Festival presents the GRLS R GR8! Mini-Film-Fest, celebrating the achievements, challenges and adventures of girls.  Age-appropriate films will be screened free of charge on several Sundays at 3pm during March and April in the Art Auditorium on the UH-Manoa campus.  A complete schedule including dates and details of films will be available after the New Year at www.outreach.hawaii.edu. 

The GRLS R GR8! Mini-Film-Fest is produced by University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Outreach College, with assistance from the UHM Women’s Center, Bridge to Hope, Office of the Gender Equity Counselor, and Art Department. Partial funding for the program is provided by the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust.   

Saturday, Santa Fe, NM. Wednesday kicked off the opening night of the 8th Annual Santa Fe Film Festival. Downtown is full of filmmakers, producers, volunteers and, what makes it best, a great audience!

Last night, we went to the gala of The Walker, starring Woody Harrelson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall and Lily Tomlin. Washington DC has never appeared so sinister. The five-day festival includes screenings of about 240 movies (including shorts), panel discussions on filmmaking, parties and the annual Milagro Awards Ceremony at 4 p.m. today at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. The event honors both participating filmmakers and five invited tributees: film and theater actor Alan Cumming, cinematographer John Bailey, film editor Carol Littleton, and documentary filmmakers Marina Goldovskaya and Alanis Obomsawin.
KIDS FIRST! contributed five films to the festival this year, including Relationship Theorem, Dorme, The Child King, Confessions of a Late Bloomer and Rocketboy. On Sunday, a gala performance of The Child King is at 2pm with Confessions of a Late Bloomer. This afternoon at 4, Dorme screens with filmmaker Sylvia Blinsfield in attendance. Relationship Theorem, Dorme, Confessions of a Late Bloomer and Rocketboy all won a Best in Category at the KIDS FIRST! Best Awards in Malibu in October. The KIDS FIRST! Film Festival provides programming to over 150 venues annually, including film festivals, children’s musuems and nonprofit film societies. Laurel Dagnon, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Film institute is in town to absorb ideas on expanding her film festivals. She hosted the first PA KIDS FIRST! Film Festival this last spring and wants to expand the festival to include panels and filmmakers. I hope next year that all our venue directors will join us in Santa Fe for the film festival!

Well, got to go. Dorme is up next.