The Virgin Islands Film Society and the brand-new Caribbean chapter of the Coalition for Quality Children's Media are presenting the second annual V.I. Kids Film Festival on St. Thomas this Saturday and Sunday, March 31/April 1, and on St. John next Saturday and Sunday, April 7/8.
St. Thomas events are taking place at Pistarckle Theater in Tillett Gardens. St. John events will be held in the Westin Resort Ballroom. The same materials are being presented both weekends.
Saturday showings are targeted at viewers 2 to 6 years of age. Sunday offerings are aimed at audiences 6 to 12 years old.
Last year's first fest, a one-day effort on both islands, was an independent project on the part of V.I. Film Society founder/president Karrl Foster, a St. Thomas resident. He connected with Ranny Levy, founder of Kids First! / the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and brought her as well as a collection of coalition-endorsed films and videos to the Virgin Islands.
The response from youngsters and parents who attended those showings was uniformly positive, he said.
Because of the relationship with Levy developed in that project, Foster decided to form a Caribbean chapter of the coalition, which often goes by its initials, CQCM. This year's V.I. festival is part of a nationwide tour of Kids First! film fests that began in early March and will conclude in October. Levy cannot be present in the territory this time because of festival demands elsewhere, he said.
CQCM, founded 10 years ago, is a national not-for-profit organization that is best known for providing ratings of films, videos and, now, DVD's as to their suitability for young viewers. It typically involves children themselves in evaluating these audiovisual entertainment media offerings, looking for material that is "engaging, age-appropriate, respectful, violence-free and challenging," to quote from the opening animation of the Kids First! web site, at www.cqcm.org/kidsfirst.
The site has synopses and ratings for more than 1,700 recorded media materials with a search engine that can track them down with a couple of key words.
The festival is showcasing the 10 finalists for the Kids First! choice of best film, video or DVD distributed in 2000. Viewers are being asked to vote for their favorite at the festivals or on the web page, with the winner to be announced after the tour concludes in October. On St. Thomas and St. John, in addition to the film and video showings, the festival will offer refreshments, music, face painting, yoga, aerobics, children's games and giveaways.
More information about the national CQCM film festival tour can be found at Yahooligans.com by clicking just beneath the main title on the box with the words "Forget Sundance. This Festival is for Kids!"
What's showing when
Here's the schedule of the identical St. Thomas and St. John showings, by targeted age of viewers. Programing is from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Saturdays for the younger children and from 10 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Sundays for the older ones. There will be 15-minute breaks between events on both days.
Saturdays, for ages 2-6
10 a.m. — "Bear in the Big Blue House: Visiting the Doctor with Bear" (50 min.). Two episodes aim at helping ease children's anxiety about going to see the doctor.
11:05 a.m. — "Blue's Big Musical Movie" (75 min.). Blue, the flop-eared dog who's become more popular among the preschool crowd than the purple Barney character, plans a backyard musical with old pals and a new friend.
12:15 p.m. — half-hour panel discussion by young critics
1:30 p.m. — "Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales" (30 min.). Children and stars join in the telling of classic bedtime tales, with discussion of such topics as "blankies," monsters and nightmares.
2:15 p.m. — "Veggie Tales: Esther … the Girl Who Became Queen" (36 min.), from the series based on Biblical stories. Esther finds that being queen takes more courage than she ever imagined but serves as a role model in overcoming her fear in order to do what's right.
3:06 p.m. — "George and Martha: Best Friends" (45 min.), from the "Doors of Wonder" series. The title characters are two hippopotamuses whose friendship addresses consideration for others, resolving conflict and solving problems.
Sunday, for ages 6-12
10 a.m. — "Chicken Run" (89 min.). Well received in its run in major theaters, this claymation film features the voice of Mel Gibson as a rooster who escaped from a circus and eggs on some cooped chickens to make their getaway to a free-range lifestyle. Assertiveness, persistence, teamwork, business and politics are among the issues addressed.
11:45 a.m. — "Dear America: A Picture of Freedom" (30 min.), based on a book from the "Dear America" series. A 12-year-old house slave on a plantation in the American South, Clotee, secretly teaches herself to read and write, then risks her life to help free her people.
12:15 p.m. — half-hour panel discussion by young critics
1:30 p.m. — "Winslow Homer: An American Original" (49 min.), from the series "The Artists' Specials." A war-weary artist retreats to the countryside to paint, but two children invade his sanctuary; together they banish the ghosts of the past to move forward with their lives.
2:25 p.m. — "The Loretta Claiborne Story" (90 min.), based on a true story. The title character is an African-American who overcame mental and physical handicaps as a child to become a distance runner who starred at the Special Olympics and made a remarkable showing in the Boston Marathon.
4:10 p.m. — "My Dog Skip" (90 min.). A boy and the Jack Russell Terrier he receives for his 10th birthday form a dynamic duo and turn bullies into friends, tangle with hapless moonshiners and win the affection of the best-looking girl in school.
Foster has viewed all of the offerings except "Blue's Big Musical Movie" and says they're "really great entertainment and also have really great teaching points." All 10 received the top "all-star" rating from Kids First!
More to come
The festival web site also lists St. Croix and San Juan as tour stops. According to Foster, he is still trying to finalize arrangements on St. Croix and the program will be repeated there at a time to be announced. Efforts at getting the event to Puerto Rico have not been successful, he said.
The festival web site also mentions "sneak previews" of three 2001 offerings "Trumpet of the Swan," "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" and "The Little Bear Movie." Foster said he plans to have a separate event to show these later in the year, with dates and places to be announced.
Corporate support for the local festival is being provided by AT&T of the V.I., Banco Popular, Cape Air, The Inn at Blackbeard's Castle, Sen. Lorraine L. Berry, and Stephanie's Hassle-Free Services. National Endowment for the Arts funding was provided through the V.I. Council on the Arts.
Festival organizers are hoping that youngsters will spend the whole day at the venue, Foster said. He noted that very young children should each be accompanied by an adult or responsible older youth, as child care is not being provided. Individual day passes are $10. Those for families are $20 meaning a parent and three youngsters, for example, could spend the day watching a total of five showings each, plus participating in the other festival activities, for $5 per person. For attending an individual film, the festival organizers are requesting a donation of $4.
For the St. Thomas program, tickets are being sold in advance at Island Video stores, Nisky Mail Boxes & Business Center and th
e Grateful Deli. For St. John, they're available at Connections and the Westin Resort. They may also be purchased at the door unless pre-sales reach seating capacity.
The V.I. Film Society is a membership organization, and information about joining will be available at both festival sites. For further information about the festival or the society, call Foster at 777-6129.
