Sundance: For Kids
Families can see 13 films during the festival that make up the festival’s Sundance Kids and Utah Student Screening Series. The festival’s Utah Student Screening Series is celebrating its 15th year of providing “Utah students and teachers the opportunity to participate in one of the world’s top film festivals” free of charge, according to sundance.org. The program offers a list of films selected from the festival’s general offerings that contain age-appropriate content for high school-age students.
Although the student screening series has been around for some time, a similar series at the festival for children was not formally established until last year. It was then that a partnership was formed with the Utah Film Center, which organizes the Tumbleweeds Film Festival for children and youths each year, to recommend films specifically for children.
Additional information about the Sundance Kids series can be found online at sundance.org. Teachers and schools interested in learning more about the Utah Student Screening Series can email [email protected].
Following are summaries for the films that are included in the Sundance Kids and Utah Student Screening Series.
Sundance Kids
“Shaun the Sheep” — Shaun the Sheep first gained his fame in the stop-motion animation Wallace & Gromit short film “A Close Shave.” This time around, the mischievous sheep leads his flock on an adventure to the big city to rescue their farmer when he’s taken from the farm.
The first Sundance Kids screening will be the world-premiere screening of the film, showing just one day before its UK premiere.
“Operation Arctic” — A 13-year-old girl and her younger twin sisters move to a new city with their mother but decide to stow away on a helicopter to visit their father after they face trouble at their new school. Things don’t go as planned, however, and the girls end up stranded on an Arctic island without food, shelter or a way to call home.
The film will be shown in Norwegian with English subtitles. Audience members will also have the option of wearing headsets to hear a subtitle reader.
“The Games Maker” — A boy receives a comic book on his 10th birthday that contains an advertisement seeking submissions for a game-making competition sponsored by a shady organization. He enters the competition despite his father’s protests and wins. But when his parents turn up missing in what appears to be a ballooning accident, the young boy goes on a journey to discover what really happened to them and to meet the head of the company who selected his game as the winner.
“The Games Maker” is included in the Sundance Film Festival schedule as part of Sundance Kids and the Utah Student Screening Series.
Utah Student Screening Series
“Most Likely to Succeed” — This documentary seeks to show that the U.S. educational system is the reason why a college degree no longer guarantees employment. Director and producer Greg Whiteley, who attended Brigham Young University for his undergraduate degree and is known for directing the documentary “Mitt,” follows students, teachers and parents who are exposed to project-based learning to explore if this education model better prepares students for a job market deeply rooted in technology and collaboration.
“Racing Extinction” — The Sundance Film Festival website calls “Racing Extinction” an “urgent, affirming call to action” in the form of a documentary. The film explores the consequences and dangers associated with many of the world’s animal species facing extinction by using images to illustrate man’s involvement in the process.
“Umrika” — Ramakant grows up anxiously awaiting letters from his older brother, who left their small Indian village to live in America. The letters inspire the family left behind in India until tragedy and secrets emerge and Ramakant sets out on a journey of his own to find his brother, creating “a touching portrait of one young man’s march toward his own destiny,” according to sundance.org. The film is in Hindi with English subtitles.
“Dark Horse” — A barmaid in a small Welsh village convinces a group of locals to join her in trying their hand at horse horse racing. Together they provide the funds to raise a racehorse named Dream Alliance. Through triumphs and injuries, Dream Alliance becomes an unlikely success story in what sundance.org refers to as a “life-affirming underdog story.”
“How to Dance in Ohio” — Director Alexandra Shiva takes viewers on a journey of “humor and heartbreak” by following a group of autistic youths in Ohio, according to sundance.org. The documentary features the youths as they role-play, practice and prepare for their spring formal and the social interactions that accompany the tradition.
“Advantageous” — This film is set in the future and tells the story of Gwen Koh, a mother and the spokeswoman for a company that focuses on using its groundbreaking technology to help people overcome weaknesses. Koh’s priorities are tested, however, when the company drastically changes its strategy. Director Jennifer Phang suggests in an online introduction video that the film explores what it means to be a mother, what it means to be selfless and whether true selflessness exits.
“In Football We Trust” — This film explores the growing trend and success of Samoans and Tongans playing football professionally. Filmmakers follow four Polynesian high school football players over the course of four years as they balance their love of the sport with societal and cultural pressures. “Charismatic, passionate and determined, the players’ love of family is matched only by their love of this most American sport that seems to flow through their veins,” a summary on the Sundance Film Festival website states. This film will be of particular interest to football fans in the state of Utah. Tony Vainuku and Erika Conhn, both of Salt Lake City, direct the film, which features several prominent names such as current BYU linebacker Harvey Langi, Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, Carolina Panthers defensive lineman and former Ute Star Lotulelei, and former BYU and NFL standout Vai Sikahema.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” — Greg, an awkward high school student, is content having only one friend, Earl, and spending his time making homemade movies. His mother has different ideas and convinces Greg to befriend Rachel, a girl who has been diagnosed with leukemia. To everyone’s surprise, the two quickly become friends. Things grow increasingly complicated, however, as Rachel’s illness takes greater effect each day. It’s billed as a film that will simultaneous “tickle your funny bone and tug at your heart,” according to sundance.org.
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” — The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense is well-known for being at the center of change during the 1960s. “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” combines archival footage and interviews from people who had a front row seat to the party’s activity, including journalists, police, loyal party members and those who left the activist group. The festival’s website calls it “a vibrant, human, living and breathing chronicle.”
“Sembene!” — A combination of interviews and archival footage are presented in “Sembene!” to paint a picture of Ousmane Sembene’s work and life as “the father of African film” who traveled across the world producing and sharing films about his people in Senegal. The result, according to sundance.org, is a documentary “highlighting how (a story) can plant a seed of thought that crosses generations.”
Visit www.sundance.org for a schedule of times and locations where the films will be screened.
