Tumbleweeds Film Festival For Kids 2012

UTAH FILM CENTER ANNOUNCES LINE-UP FOR 2ND ANNUAL TUMBLEWEEDS FILM FESTIVAL FOR KIDS
11 Features and 14 Short Films for children ages 4 and up to screen March 23-25
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Utah Film Center announced the films and workshops for the 2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children.  The 2nd annual event presents feature-length and short films from around the world for children ages 4-14.  This year’s line up includes 11 feature films and 14 short films films from 7 countries, in 5 languages.  Many films will be screened in their original languages, with a reader narrating the subtitles for younger audience members. In addition to the 18 film presentations, the festival includes four film related workshops presented by Spy Hop Productions. Screenings and workshops will be held March 23-25 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Spy Hop Productions and The City Library. Tickets for all screenings are $6.00 and workshops are $30.00 including service charges. Tickets for all events are available beginning March 5 at www.arttix.org. More information about the Tumbleweeds Film Festival is available at www.utahfilmcenter.org.
“The response after last year’s inaugural festival was overwhelming,” said Patrick Hubley, Artistic Director of the Utah Film Center and Director of Tumbleweeds, “The positive feedback we had from our almost 3,000 attendees really inspired us as we planned to present another event.  This year’s line-up features more foreign language films than last year and just as many great stories. We hope our festival audiences enjoy watching these films as much as we did when selecting our program.”
Earlier in the week, from March 21-23, the Utah Film Center is working with local elementary school, middle school, junior high, and high school teachers to bring 1,200 students to 6 school outreach screenings.  All of the screenings are free to the students, thanks to the support of our sponsors, and include study guides to assist teachers in using the film as a teaching tool.
Opening and Closing Night films will be announced within the coming weeks.
2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival Film Program:
AMAZING ANIMATIONS!Recommended for children 6+Don’t miss this international collection of colorful, clever and creative animated short films. From four sisters trying to pass the time on a long trip, to a pigeon that sabotages a secret mission, to a dog that finds a new best friend – its own tail! – this wonderful set of films features a variety of stories in a range of animations styles.  Fun and inventive, these animations are sure to entertain and delight audiences of all ages!
AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY // LE JOURNAL D’AURÉLIE LAFLAMME Director: Christian Laurence (Canada, 2010 – 108 min)Screens in French with English subtitles – Recommended for children ages 12+ Feeling out of place the world, Aurélie Laflamme wonders if she might be an alien in this funny and touching look at a girl navigating the path to adolescence.
BACALARDirector: Patricia Arriaga-Jordán//Mexico, 2011 – 96 minScreens in Spanish with English subtitles – Recommended for children 9+With a little help from some mystical animal spirits, best friends Santiago and Mariana attempt to rescue endangered wolf cubs from ruthless animal smugglers in this exciting Mexican action-adventure.
A CAT IN PARIS // UN VIE DE CHATDirectors: Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol (France/Belgium, 2011 – 70 min)Screens in French with English subtitles – Recommended for children 8+Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Film, this stunning hand drawn and richly colored animation, with a jazzy soundtrack, is a charming, action-packed adventure set in the moonlit rooftops of Paris.
CIRCUS DREAMSDirector: Signe Taylor (USA, 2011 – 80 min)Recommended for children 8+Join charismatic young jugglers, acrobats and clowns as they spend the summer performing with Circus Smirkus, the only travelling youth circus in the United States.
FRIENDS FOREVER // MULLEWAPPDirectors: Toney Loeser and Theresa Strozyk (Germany, 2010 – 77 min)Recommended for children 4+When Cloud the Lamb is kidnapped, it is Johnny the Mouse, Charlie the Rooster and Percy the Pig to the rescue in this delightful animated adventure about the importance of friendship.
THE LETTER FOR THE KING // DE BRIEF VOOR DE KONINGDirector: Pieter Verhoeff (The Netherlands, 2008 – 100 min)Screens in Dutch with English subtitles – Recommended for children 8+Travel back to medieval times for an exciting adventure about a teenaged squire who must evade his enemies and deliver a letter that carries the fate of an entire kingdom.
LOUDER THAN A BOMBDirectors: Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel (USA, 2010 – 99 min)Recommended for children 13+Exhilarating and inspiring, this documentary follow the fortunes of four diverse groups of high school students as they prepare for, and compete in one of the country’s leading youth poetry slam.
THE MAGICIANS // HET GHEIMDirector: Joram Lürsen (The Netherlands, 2010 – 94 min)Screens in Dutch with English subtitles – Recommend for children 7+Aspiring magician Ben learns not everything is as it seems when he must solve the mysterious disappearance of his best friend Sylvie in this charmingly entertaining family film.
MOONBEAM BEAR AND HIS FRIENDS // DER MONDBAERDirectors: Thomas Bodenstein and Mike Maurus (Germany, 2008 – 69 min)Recommended for children 4+When Mr. Moon falls from the night sky, it’s up to Moonbeam Bear and his friends to return him back home in this delightful and enchanting animation ideal for younger viewers.
TIGER TEAMDirector: Peter Gersina (Germany, 2010 – 90 min)Screens in German with English subtitles –  Recommended for children 8+Join the Tiger-Team, Bigi, Luk and Patrick, on a dynamic action filled adventure in China as they race to be the first to unlock an age-old palace of riches hidden deep inside a mountain.
2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival WorkshopsPresented in partnership with Spy Hop Productions.
Stop Motion Animation: LEGO’s Live!  Ages 7 – 9 Saturday, March 24, 10 am–12 pm at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center Bring your LEGOs to life in this introduction to animation class. Write, produce and direct a short film involving LEGO minifigs and set designs.
3D Game Design: Space Invasions Ages 10 – 12 Saturday, March 24, 10 am-12 pm at Spy Hop ProductionsUsing Unity 3D Software, build planets, asteroids and alien space ships to cruise around your new universe. You’ll take home your game to share online or with your friends.
Special FX Make Up Ages 7 – 9Saturday, March 24, 1-3 pm at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center Work with a makeup artist to turn your fellow classmates into zombies, avatars and monsters and then get a professional photo made of yourself in costume.
The Living Comic Book Ages 10 – 12Saturday, March 24, 1–3 pm at Spy Hop ProductionsStart with a clip of a classic cartoon and record your own sound effects to make your own hilarious short film.
Visit www.kidsfilm.org for more info. Follow us on Twitter @kidsfilm and “like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TumbleweedsFilmFestival.
Tumbleweeds is generously sponsored by: the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks Program, Adobe Foundation, Art Works for Kids!, eBay, the Natural History Museum of Utah and Spyhop Productions.
Media Sponsors for the 2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival are: City Weekly, KUED, NOW, and Munchkin Radio.
Utah Film Center programs are made possible by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Rio Tinto, Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks Program, Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the Swartz Foundation, and Zions Bank.
The Tumbleweeds Film Festival is an annual film festival for children and youth, ages 4-14, presented by the Utah Film Center. Launched in 2011, Tumbleweeds provides opportunities for film lovers of all ages to engage their creative spirit, and bridge cultures by experiencing films whose stories transcend geographic, cultural and political boundaries. Many of the films at Tumbleweeds are screened in their original language. Foreign language screenings are presented with English subtitles that will be read aloud by a “subtitle reader.” In addition to film screenings, the Utah Film Center is partnering with Spy Hop Productions to present workshops designed to introduce participants to different aspects of filmmaking.