IFI Family Festival 2012 announced!

It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to sunshine, sand, school holidays… and how to fill them. Well, why not get those two long, school-free months off to a great start with the IFI Family Festival, running July 5th – 8th? 

Alfie, the Little Werewolf (Friday, July 6th, 14.00)

There is plenty in our programme to engage all tastes: for the adventurous we have films from other countries including Australia, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Sweden, whose stories, though different, will be quite familiar too. For something closer to home we will be screening the premiere of Moon Man, a brand new Irish animation. Kiwi Flyer, a New Zealand story of go-cart racing and overcoming the school bully, will bring the festival to a close.

Moon Man (Premiere - Saturday, July 7th, 18.30)

The aim of our Festival is to try to give young audiences a chance to see some of the wealth of international films made for their age range but which don’t very often get a cinema release here. Countries such as The Netherlands and Sweden have long and rich histories of filmmaking for young people but, if competing for distribution and cinema space with the latest story from THAT wizard, or yet another ‘brilliant’ 3D pirate adventure, they’re not going to get much of a look in. So it’s at festivals like ours where they’ll get a chance to be seen.

Short Tales: Programme 1 (Friday, July 6th, 11.00)

We watch a lot of films before making our selection, and look to more established festival such as Berlin or Toronto for their experiences, as well as drawing on our own knowledge of programming for schools and the IFI Family monthly programme. We use readers, i.e. a person who reads the subtitles aloud so that having to follow titles isn’t an inhibitor to enjoyment of the film. Having a reader makes the film instantly accessible; you can sit back, watch and listen as the magic unfolds.

Sci-fi Pop-ups Workshop (Saturday, July 7th, 11-13.00)

And for those who are keen on behind the scenes, we have a host of workshops too – exploring music for film, creating digital playgrounds and generally giving participants a chance to learn more about the art and craft of film and digital art.

Alicia McGivern

Head of IFI Education

For more info on the festival see our separate programme or visit www.ifi.ie. For bookings, please contact our Box Office on 01 679 3477, or book online. 

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