The New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) is an Academy Award® qualifying film festival of new feature and short films for children ages 3-18 years.
21st New York International Children’s Film Festival
The 21st New York International Children’s Film Festival is weekends, February 23 – March 18, 2018.
The Festival opens with a screening of Lu Over the Wall by Masaaki Yuasa (Japan) on Friday, February 23, 2018 at SVA Theatre in Chelsea, Manhattan at 6 pm. $17
Other venues are:
- Cinépolis Chelsea in Chelsea, Manhattan
- IFC Center in Greenwich Village, Manhattan
- Scandinavia House in Manhattan’s Upper East Side
- Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Downtown Brooklyn
- Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens
Latin Feature Films at the 21st NYICFF
Belle and Sebastian, Friends for Life
A Festival favorite returns with the conclusion of this celebrated French trilogy, capping the adventures of Sebastian and his devoted dog, Belle.
In the French Alps circa WWII, Sebastian, happy in his rural village with Belle and her pups, is unsettled when he overhears news of a potential move. Even more disturbing is the stranger who appears, claiming Belle as his own. It will take all of Sebastian’s determination and devotion to those he loves to surmount these challenges in this stunningly filmed series culmination.
Clovis Cornillac, France, 2018, Live action
North American Premiere
In French with English subtitles
Recommended for ages 8+
SVA Theatre
Sunday, February 25 at 10:30 am
Saturday, March 3 at 10:30 am
Sunday, March 11 at 1:30 pm
Sunday, March 18 at 4:45 pm
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
From the director of Oscar®-nominated Ernest & Celestine (NYICFF 2013), The Big Bad Fox is a three-part tale that will have you howling!
A pig takes over a stork’s duties, hopping planes, trains, and automobiles to make a delivery. A fox strives to be seen as big and bad instead of sweet and silly. And a bird is desperate to swap roles from Christmas Duck to Father Christmas in this hilarious trifecta of animated stories about farmyard animals with big dreams.
Benjamin Renner & Patrick Imbert, France, 2017, Animation
New York Premiere
In French with English subtitles
Recommended for ages 7+
Screenings
SVA Theatre: Saturday February 24 at 2:30 pm
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Sunday, March 4 at 11 am
SVA Theatre: Sunday, March 11 at 2:30 pm
Liyana
Liyana is a thrilling, beautifully-illustrated fictional tale of a young girl on a perilous quest to reunite with her brothers. At the same time, it’s a compelling documentary following the lives of five amazing children from an orphanage in Swaziland.
Together with their wonderful storytelling teacher, these bright and captivating youngsters transform their difficult experiences through narrative to collectively craft Liyana’s tale. An ode to the power of storytelling and the strength of the human spirit, Liyana is an uplifting, genre-defying film not to be missed.
Note: while sensitively handled, film deals with challenging family histories and lingering impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Co-presented with the Museum of Modern Art’s Documentary Fortnight.
Aaron Kopp & Amanda Koop; Qatar, Swaziland, USA; 2017, Animation & Documentary
In English and SiSwati with English subtitles
Recommended for ages 10+
Screenings
Scandinavia House: Saturday, February 24 at 3:30 pm
Cinépolis Chelsea: Sunday, March 11 at 5:15 pm
March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step
Twelve years after its first big splash, March of the Penguins returns in grand form with its inimitable narrator Morgan Freeman, and NYICFF offers the unique opportunity to see the film gloriously on the big screen prior to its HULU premiere March 23.
The emperor penguins’ arduous journey is even more urgent in the face of climate change, and more impressive, featuring awe-inspiring imagery made possible by cutting-edge 4K cinematography and underwater camerawork.
Now a new generation of black-and-white heroes steal the show, sometimes fuzzy, sometimes sleek, but ever charming, curious, dignified, skillful, and devoted. Follow parents and children alike as they heed nature’s call to bridge sea, land, and generations to survive.
Luc Jacquet, France, 2017, Documentary
In English
Recommended for ages 6+
SVA Theatre
Saturday, February 24 at 2 pm
Saturday, March 10 at 10:30 am
Sunday, March 18 at 1 pm
White Fang
NYICFF alum and Oscar-winning short director Alexandre Espigares returns with his feature debut, a thrilling and thought-provoking adaptation of Jack London’s classic tale.
White Fang and his fellow canines call the rugged beauty of the Yukon territory home, but with the Gold Rush of the 1890s they are thrust against the harsh life of profit-seeking prospectors. Will the tribal leader or a new peacekeeping couple offer White Fang another path?
Alexandre Espigares, France, 2018, Animation
Spotlight screening. East Coast Premiere
In English
Recommended for ages 8+
SVA Theatre
Saturday, February 24 at 4:30 pm
Saturday, March 3 at 12:30 pm
Sunday, March 11 at 12:30 pm
Zombillénium
Sprung from the comic book pages and crypts alike, celebrated French graphic novelist Arthur de Pins’ characters come to life, or er, undeath, on the big screen with a wickedly wry story of monster liberation.
Challenges abound when amusement park Zombillenium is threatened by a corporate buy-out. Fortunately, high-minded ghoul dad Hector, tenacious witchboarder Gretchen, and a collective cohort of zombies rise up and fight in true French form for worker rights–above and below ground–in this clever genre and monster mash up.
Note: film contains comic-book style depictions of adult revelry and gallows humor.
Arthur de Pins & Alexis Ducord, France, 2017, Animation
East Coast Premiere
French with English subtitles
Screenings
SVA Theatre: Sunday, March 4 at 5 pm
SVA Theatre: Sunday, March 11 at 5 pm
Cinépolis Chelsea: Saturday, March 17 at 3:30 pm
21st New York International Children’s Film Festival Tickets
$14 General Admission
Children 3+ require a ticket.
Adult supervision is required. Tickets are not required to supervise.
All Access Festival Pass $475
Tickets for Museum of the Moving Image screenings must be purchased at www.movingimage.us
By Phone
TicketWeb (866) 468-3399
Online
nyicff.org/tickets
For a full schedule, visit nyicff.org
