Northwest Film Forum

Have you ever felt a bolt out of the blue, a moment when your mind opens up and you see new possibilities? That’s what happens to the kids in these shorts. You’ll meet a girl who slips into a new dimension, a boy whose mind plays tricks on him, a child determined to trap a sunbeam and a boy who simply can’t sit still.

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(Saman Hosseinpuor, Kurdistan/Iran, live action, 2014, 1 min) Nonverbal.

A boy is watching a soccer game on TV and gets so excited he forgets he’s in the middle of a haircut. Oops!

Land

(Masanobu Hiraoka, Japan, animation, 2013, 3:30 min) Nonverbal.

Can you change the way you see the world and the cosmos? Of course!

Imagination

(Catheryne Chepik, Ukraine, live action and animation, 2013, 9:12 min)  Nonverbal.

A creative girl goes on dazzling adventures into paintings, toy boxes, and even slips inside her own pocket.

The Little Blonde Boy with a White Sheep

(Eloi Henriod, France, 2013, animation, 8:57 min) In French with English subtitles.

In a classroom on a rainy day, a boy dreams of frolicking with his favorite sheep.

LOOK!

(Udo Prinsen, Netherlands, 2014, animation and live action, 4:46 min) In Dutch sign language, but no subtitles are necessary.

With her hands, a woman makes a whole wild world come alive.

The New Species

(Kateřina Karhánková, Czech Republic, animation, 2013, 6:18 min) Nonverbal.

Some children come across an old bone and try to imagine what kind of animal it might have belonged to.

Koyaa — Flower

(Kolja Saksida, Slovenia/Croatia/Poland, animation, 2013, 3:35 min) Nonverbal.

A venus flytrap attacks, in this funny story of friendship.

Illusion

(Yoon sun Bae and Vanessa Lee, USA, animation, 2:06 min) Nonverbal.

A boy who lives in a gumball machine yearns to escape and see the world.

Doron Coron

(Yuichi Ito, Japan, animation, 2012, 2 min) Dialogue is gibberish.

See how a little dirt clod keeps the world going round!

Tale of a String

(Karsten Kiilerich, Denmark, animation, 2013, 6:18) In Danish with English subtitles.

Two strings are shape shifters, capable of morphing into many different creatures.

Balloons

(Sitora Takanaev, USA, live action, 2014, 5:02 min) In English.

A girl is feeling sad when she finds a new way to bring happiness to herself and others: balloons!

The Light and the Little Girl

(Guy Pooles, USA/UK, live action, 2014, 6:36 min) Nonverbal.

A young girl loves the beam of sunlight shining through her house so much that she wants to capture it in a jar.

Sounds of Nature

(Simon Weber, Switzerland, live action, 2013, 7:45 min) Nonverbal.

A boy who likes to play video games discovers that the forest can be just as thrilling.

For ages 6+.

Notes to parents: One film (Balloons) shows a girl’s buoyant response to an instance of bullying. Another film (Doron Coron) has some brief bathroom humor and a bittersweet ending. And in a festival first, another film (Koyaa — Flower) features a hungry carnivorous plant!

Trailers:

Koyaa — Flower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBhcy23yNKU

The Light and the Little Girl: https://vimeo.com/99509955

Balloons: https://vimeo.com/86643765