KIDS FIRST! News

KIDS FIRST! launches a series of C-Suite interviews with leading entertainment industry executives who are true role models for young people. This week we feature KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Gerry O. interviewing Brian Schultz, Founder and CEO of Studio Movie Grill. Schultz shares his story of how he got started in the entertainment world, what he looks for in employees, advice to young people, and explains SMG’s motto: Opening Hearts And Minds One Story At A Time.

Having just opened a new 60,000 square feet theater in Glendale, CA with a high tech cinema that amps it up to give moviegoers a first class dining experience with a full-service restaurant and bar, while enjoying first-run movies. This location will host premieres, special events and fundraisers, as well as SMG’s legacy Special Needs Screenings and Chefs for Children program which benefit local charities.

Enjoy Gerry O.’s Interview with Brian Schultz, Founder and CEO, Studio Movie Grill

From one screen in 1993, to over 250 screens today, Studio Movie Grill and Brian Schultz have come a long way together. It wasn’t long ago that Brian was working every position on a Friday night, to leading a Top 20 theater chain today with thousands of team members. Despite the challenges of building a business, one thing has remained the same…positively impacting lives through the power of movies and sustainable deeds is good business for everyone. Brian Schultz’s vision raises the bar for cinemas nationwide.

For more information and to find a location near you, visit https://www.studiomoviegrill.com/locations

By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 17
Author’s Page – Amazon
World According to G

While feature films with A-list actors garner the most attention at the Oscars, the award show also has three short film categories that seldom receive the attention they deserve. For that reason, the Malibu Film Society held a free screening for Saria (Nominated, Best Live Action Short), Sister (Nominated, Best Animated Short) and Walk Run Cha-Cha (Nominated, Best Documentary Short). 

Each film coveys wildly different topics but shares a universal goal of showing something that needs to be discussed. Saria’s haunting story shows that outside the developed safety of western nations, there exists corruption, injustice and innocents powerless to defend themselves, with humanitarian disasters occurring frequently that never receive the spotlight of the western world. Sister examines the very real and emotional connection between siblings and forces the audience to carefully consider the value of human life. Walk Run Cha-Cha mixes the passion of dance and shows how love can beat the boundaries of time and space.

Each film deals with loss in its story. Saria follows the true story of a group of children in an orphanage in Guatemala that suffer from constant abuse and their eventual revolt against their abusers, ultimately leading to a tragedy. Sister uses the beautiful expressionism of stop motion animation to creatively show the relationship between a big brother and little sister and by the end, it inspires careful thought about who has a right to be born. Walk Run Cha-Cha tells the story of a couple that falls in love in Vietnam before the Vietnam War, become separated by the political turmoil, only to reconnect a long six years later and have incredible talents as professional dancers.

Saria developed its main characters in a way that ensured the audience connected to the children’s suffering: the film took time to portray its young characters as normal teenagers. They felt jealousies, had their first loves, shared silly rumors and had colorful dreams of the future, which only helped further the pain of seeing such injustices committed against them.

Sisters, made by students at Cal Arts, shows how excellent stop motion can be. The movements look as smooth as digital animation and have as much possibility as digital animation. The short, eight-minute story develops its characters perfectly and feels authentic and relatable to anyone watching. Yet, its large reveal at the end could have been done better – minutes before the narrator unveils the twist, the visuals foreshadow the twist. By having this slow unveiling of the surprise at the end, it lowers its emotional impact on the audience. Yet, it perfectly tackles what can be considered a political topic in a very unbiased way, allowing viewers from any point of view to enjoy it.

Walk Run Cha-Cha perfectly connects the audience to the couple on-screen by examining their lives, habits and most importantly, their story. While the scenes of the couple dancing would warm anyone’s heart, the documentary poorly connects them to the story of how political turmoil separated their love, creating an odd contrast between the film discussing their past and their present love of dance.

All three films have many lessons for adults to learn but may be difficult for younger children to understand, so I recommend all three films for ages 14 to 18. While Saria may be intense for children as young as 14, it should be remembered that the youngest victims in the tragedy were 14 years old. Showing films like this can help children understand early on how people in the west have it much easier, compared to those in other parts of the world. 

Because of Saria’s exceptional reenactment of a heart-aching tragedy, I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Sisters portrays a real-life relationship between siblings, realistically and maintained and impressively neutral in a deeply partisan political issue but fails in the delivery of the most important twist of the story and so I give it 4 out of 5 stars. While Walk Run Cha-Cha shows the human consequences of global conflicts such as the Vietnam War quite well, it fails to connect its two subplots – the history of the couple’s relationship and their dancing, in a meaningful way. Hence, I give it 3 ½ out of 5 stars. All three are nominated for an Oscar, so keep that in mind when you watch the award’s show on February 2, 2020.

By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 17

As the final hours of this year wind down and I reflect on the experiences of the year, gratitude fills my heart and soul. Remembering the precious time spent with family and friends, feeling the loss of precious ones who slipped into the beyond, thankful for the successes of KIDS FIRST! and for good health. This year started with a remarkable retreat in Charleston and ended with a holiday retreat on Florida’s gulf coast with friends and family.

So many wonderful experiences flood my memory as I sit in quiet meditation this morning, from visiting friends and family in Budapest, spending time with friends and neighbors around the pool, at the beach and around the dining table in Santa Fe, Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere. One of our big deals for KIDS FIRST! this year was finding a producer for our KIDS FIRST! TV show, which we hope to be sharing with you soon, and coaching our beautiful team of KIDS FIRST! reporters and helping them reach their own personal goals. We have several reporters graduating in the spring and have been busy writing letters of support for their college applications. Oh my, I remember them as mere pipsqueaks when they first started with us. How time flies and how beautifully they have matured.

I feel renewed and excited about jumping into 2020, filled with anticipation for a remarkable year. To all our followers, I send you wishes for a new year filled with love and peace and joy. Know that we always appreciate your love and support. We love to hear from you so, keep that up. Don’t be shy.

Hugs and love.
See you at the movies!
Ranny and Everyone at KIDS FIRST!

The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Boot Camp is coming to eight cities this summer, enabling kids to learn how to become entertainment reporters after spending a week practicing their on- and off-camera skills. Taught by leading producers, directors and filmmakers, children ages 11 to 17 truly have the opportunity of a lifetime in this unique star-making program. Beginning in Denver June 4-8, the camp then travels to Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Old Bridge (NJ), Seattle, Los Angeles and New York City.

“My eldest son, Rohan participated in the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Boot Camp in 2016 and has been a part of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics national  team since. It has been amazing watching his confidence grow over the last two years. His teachers have also noticed a huge improvement in his writing ability. He attended the advanced camp in 2017 and learned a lot about video editing and improved his interviewing skills. Jennifer F., New York City

The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Boot Camp is designed to offer young people the opportunity to learn the skills they need to critique and review films, present their reviews on-camera and interview celebrities. “Children will learn a variety of behind-the-scenes film industry skills as they watch and critique the latest films, write reviews, develop on-camera reporting and interviewing techniques and meet working film critics, celebrities, directors and producers of some of their favorite films,” said Ranny Levy, KIDS FIRST! Founder and President.

“It made me improve my vocabulary and write even more because I didn’t use to like writing,” said Angel David Gonzales who participated in the 2017 camp in Brooklyn, NY last summer. The normally shy Gonzalez’s teacher, Madeline Rodriguez commented that participating in the camp boosted his confidence as well.  “It’s really nice to see him open up from his shell, to really embrace this experience and opportunity,” she said.

Following the camp, campers will have the opportunity to join the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics team of reporters. Reviews by KIDS FIRST! Film Critics reach more than seven million viewers every month through affiliations with broadcast, print and online publications including Huffington Post, Kidzworld.com, GRAND Magazine, Kidsville News, Working Woman and many more. Take a look at ABC News Entertainment Reporter Sandy Kenyon’s story on one of our previous camps:  https://7ny.tv/2KvqYMt

KIDS FIRST! FIRM CRITICS BOOT CAMP DETAILS:

• June 4 – 8: Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80206
• June 18 – 22: Miami, FL ImaginaUS, 7291 NW 74th St., Miami, FL 33166
• July 9 – 14: KiDz HuB National Headquarters, 2685 County Rd 516, Old Bridge, NJ 08857
• July 13 – 15: Young Media Critics, 225 E. City Line Ave, Suite 16, Bala Cynwyd, PA 
• July 23 – 27: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
• July 30 – Aug. 3: Rainier Arts Center, 3515 S. Alaska St., Seattle, WA 98118
• Aug. 6 – 10: New York City, location tba
• Aug. 10 – 12: IN3, 2301 D Georgia Ave., NW, Washington DC 20011

Learn more and register at:  http://www.kidsfirst.org/become-a-juror/2018.BootCamp.html

ABC Eyewitness News coverage by Sandy Kenyon of 2017 New York City camp.

The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Boot Camp takes media literacy to a new level and engages kids actively doing something they enjoy, acting as accountable youth reporters. Kids love it! Parents love it! Teachers love it! Take a look at this clip from News12 showing how Bronx students have incorporated what they learned at boot camp into their every day lives. http://Bronx.news12.com/story/36688518/students-use-summer-camp-film-lessons-in-everyday-life

KIDS FIRST! is a project of the 26-year-old national nonprofit (501-c-3) Coalition for Quality Children’s Media whose mission is to  teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children’s media. The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Boot Camp has taken place on the lot at Walt Disney Studios, the Paramount Pictures lot, Discovery Communications Headquarters and Hispanic Information and Technology Network in New York City. KIDS FIRST! is supported by major entertainment industry leaders, teachers, librarians, media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide with a cumulative membership of over 17 million.

Holiday shopping doesn’t have to be stressful. That’s why, KIDS FIRST! has created our annual Holiday Gift Guide featuring DVDs, games and music for your loved ones. We know you look for that perfect gift for your niece, nephew, sister-in-law and of course, your own kids and family members and, we’ve got your back! You most likely know what those closest to you want and need, but for those who you don’t see as often it’s more of a challenge. Check out our recommendations of DVDs, music and games to help you find the perfect Holiday gift. Many of these have been reviewed by our in-house team of youth KIDS FIRST! Film Critics and, if so, you will find their video review right next to the item. Of course, you can find many more reviews at www.kidsfirst.org and, if you order anything from Amazon, please use our Amazon Smile account so a part of your purchase helps to support the ongoing work of KIDS FIRST. Happy Holidays from all of us at KIDS FIRST! to all of you. Please feel free to share this with your peeps.

Click here for our 2016 KIDS FIRST! Holiday Gift Guide: http://slides.com/rannynm/deck-31