5th Annual Louisville Children’s Film Festival
About The Festival
The 5th Annual Louisville Children’s Film Festival is running March 10th, 2023 – March 25th, 2023! Family passes & tickets are available.
Thank you to our sponsors!
2023 Film Festival Programs
Growing Pains – March 10th @ 6:00 p.m. & March 12th @ 3:30 p.m.
These thought-provoking, moving, and funny shorts explore kids growing up, learning about the world, and having to confront some of life’s challenges for the first time.
Vahid enters a bicycle race with the new bike his dad bought for him. However, when another boy reports a similar bike missing, Vahid worries that his bike might be stolen.
In an Indonesian tribe, a young boy goes on an adventure with his father and learns about his tradition in The Pillar of Strength by Ayie Ibrahim.
Gerard is 12-year-old boy who lives close to the seaside. Every day he swims far from the coast, until one day he learns about the dangers and mystery of the sea.
While awaiting the results of his mother’s US visa renewal, a teenage immigrant finds himself at a crossroads between holding onto the promise of opportunity in America and embracing the life he left in Uganda.
A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha, only to learn the meaning of sacrifice.
Room Rodeo is a drama-documentary hybrid where a wide-eyed boy takes matters into his own hands in order to prove he is the great grandson of a legendary Black cowboy.
“Pete” is an animated short film based on a true story about gender identity, Little League Baseball, the people who inspire change by trying to be themselves, & the superheroes who allow that change to happen.
Literal Sunshine – March 10th @ 7:30 p.m.
Kids can do anything! In this block, watch kids innocently and mischievously sell rocks, brilliantly code, navigate disabilities and so much more, all with a beaming happiness that lights up the world around them.
Generation Impact is a new docu series that features teenage entrepreneurs using technology to break barriers and better their communities. THE CODER is the first film in the series.
Dongshi is a coastline township in Taiwan, famous for its fresh fish and sweet, fat oysters. This docu short follows local children who are independent, & helpful to their parents but, kids at heart.
Refusing to allow his Cerebral Palsy diagnosis to diminish his competitive nature and desire to play sports, Nick Weiss paved his own path: ultimately inspiring youth to do the same. This is his story.
From the perspective of Israeli biracial kids, BrownWhite explores how skin color influences the development of identity. Weaving their lived experiences with findings from academic research, the film reveals their dilemmas around identity in a world that’s more complicated than brown or white.
A slice-of-life look at how kids in the former mining town of Silverton, Colorado stay busy in the summer by “mining” and selling rocks to tourists. Through this time-honored rite of passage, these “rock stars” learn history, social skills, and become little entrepreneurs while delighting tourists from around the world.
Abby is physically trapped inside of a body that does not function due to Cerebral palsy. She cannot speak and her body does not move the way it should move. Abby has a profound love for all animals. She trains and communicates with dogs without speaking. The animals understand Abby better than people can.
Brave Girl is a young adventurer who is just beginning her journey of finding out what it takes to climb mountains. Even though she’s only 6, she has an unwavering ambition to climb the biggest mountains in the world, starting with the ones in her backyard in Wyoming.
Warm and Fuzzy – March 11th @ 9:30 a.m. & March 25th @ 10:30 a.m.
Follow along as these critters and kids embark on adventures of friendship, family, and learning to be yourself. This colorful collection of animated films will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy!
In this second Fox & Pigeon tale, we find ourselves in a library. The Fox & the Pigeon feel the need to fit in – but aren’t they interesting enough, just they way they are?
Greta has the most boring grandma in the whole world. When she falls asleep on the sofa, Greta gets the idea, to play funeral with her grandma.
Through an unexpected turn of events, a young girl must learn to let go in Between Wings & Swings, a short-film written and directed by Yuyang Yan.
During a game of hide and seek Vanja leaves the bright living room and enters a dimly lit courtyard, which has far too many dark corners, weird shadows and strange noises. To overcome the fear, Vanja turns into a dangerous tiger!
Ezra is excited to bring homemade latkes to class to celebrate Hanukkah during his school holiday party. The only problem is that Ezra is Black & Jewish (aka Blewish), which confuses his classmates, as they assume he should be celebrating Christmas.
Three little mouse deers are living happily in Cucumber Village (Desa Timun) but, when the little brother’s one and only ball was pecked flat by a chicken, the two sisters must find a way to bring back their little brother’s smile.
One day, when Mama bird is away, Mel decides it’s time to learn to fly. She’s been in the nest long enough. Despite the fears of her cautious siblings, Mel takes to the sky & plummets! Can Mel master the art of flight?
Spuffies have a serious thing for jubees in Spuffies (Spacapufi). When they’ve eaten the very last delicious fruit and hunger is about to strike, they head to the next jubee grove through the murky forest.
In a fantasy world, a griffin embraces his fate and goes on an epic journey to find a legendary creature: the human in the animated narrative short, Search for the Human.
Petites et Grandes Aventures – March 11th @ 12 p.m.
Follow along with adventures big and small in this collection of French language films! Meet giant robots, friendly camels, a girl learning to sail, and even a mythical creature trying to track down a human!
A young boy scout gives himself the mission to liberate his friend from her house since her dad won’t let her go to the camp.
In a fantasy world, a griffin embraces his fate and goes on an epic journey to find a legendary creature: the human in the animated narrative short, Search for the Human.
A cold-blooded snake and a hot-blooded camel become close friends in the animated, narrative short Birth of the Oases (Naissance des Oasis.)
Noée, a 9-year-old girl, just joined her mother on the island of Bénac’h in Brittany. She discovers that all of the kids here have known each other forever and that they all know how to sail. And Noée wants to try! But her mother doesn’t have the means to sign her up for sailing class.
In the animated, narrative short Sushi Overdrive, a canyon where a society is divided between two casts, the cat-people, the superior one, and the fish-people, the oppressed one, Takhma, a fish-girl, participates in a mecha run that is the key to her emancipation.
Feeling guilty for having forgotten the book he had promised to his daughter, Tom must be imaginative to tell her a fantastic story and thus not disappoint her in Clair de Lune.
Películas de Español – March 11th @ 3 p.m.
This eclectic collection of Spanish language films takes you through life’s ups and downs, adventures big and small! Meet characters like orphan stars, mischievous musicians, and animal companions!
In Operación Frankenstein, three siblings find a broken mannequin in the dumpster and decide to rebuild it using whatever they can find. After that, they try to animate it like Dr. Frankenstein did with his monster.
Among the hills of northwestern Argentina, a girl spends the winter in her hut. She weaves colored ponchos and goes in search of her friends, native animals of the area, to keep them warm with her wool.
Nicolas is a kid who has moved with his parents to the suburbs near to an ancient fog forest. The place takes on a new meaning when he starts to have mysterious encounters with native animals.
In Star Orphanage (Orfanato de Estrellas), reporters and cameramen arrive at the doors of the Galileo Galilei Orphanage to film the extraordinary children that the old and tired Apolo Sandoval has been in charge of for decades.
Emma (7), is a girl who loves soccer, brave in everyone’s eyes; she who keeps an important secret, she is afraid of the dark. Augusto (69) her grandfather, a blind man, taught her to play soccer, and it is he who, during an afternoon of training, discovers Emma’s secret.
Sara is 5 years old and loves the stories of her grandmother, Nina. Due to the pandemic, they have not seen each other in a long time. Sara constantly asks her mother to call Nina to hear “the best stories in the world.”
Inés is a 12-year-old girl that starts taking roller skating classes, encouraged by her parents that are trying to keep her away from home while they’re dealing with her sister’s illness.
A town suffering a long drought entrusts its destiny to a wandering musician who has the power to bring rain with his accordion’s music in The Torrential Melody (La Melodía Torrencial).
Feeling disconnected from her Dominican heritage, a young woman warms to her cultural identity after meeting a lively neighbor in the animated short film, Please in Spanish.
It’s Up To Us – March 11th @ 4:30 p.m. and March 25th @ 12:30 p.m.
Parents used to teach their children about climate change; now, children are teaching their parents. The short films in this collection demonstrate the ways in which today’s youth have quite literally taken matters into their own hands to ensure a cleaner, healthier environment for future generations. We can’t wait for others to make change happen– it’s up to us!
In We Are Water Protectors, when a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people’s water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.
A little girl stumbles into a sacred grove near her village in south India. She disturbs the spirit of the forest, who takes her on an adventure to illuminate the origins of this ancient swampland.
A brave canine chemist named Bo devises a solution to the overwhelming amount of garbage choking our planet. His devotion to fellow animals is repaid in kind when he must face an unfriendly foe.
In AIR, one young girl in the near future demonstrates the power of individual action by helping to rid her city of pollution.
Fighting pollution can feel overwhelming, but all it takes is one person to inspire a community to make a change.
An intriguing mixture of legend and fantasy introduces us to a young indigenous girl who follows a mysterious glowing toad.
Everyday Magic – March 12th @ 2 p.m.
These films celebrate how imagination and creativity can bring the everyday world to life, and emphasizes the tools and inspirations that exist to help create and animate imaginary worlds.
Three children make up the story of a whale jumping out of a mountain lake and taking a ride on a hot-air balloon.
The film is about an encounter between a sack of flour and a broken tree trunk — depicting unexpectedness in everyday life.
Three siblings find a broken mannequin in the dumpster and decide to rebuild it using whatever they can find.
Confined to their hot apartment, two sisters fantasize about the possible adventures of their lost toy penguin in the outside world.
Animator Rachel Reid talks about how to be an animator and encourages others to follow their dream.
Joep in the Tomato Soup is a short family film about amazement and discovering new places.
During a game of hide and seek Vanja leaves the bright living room and enters a dimly lit courtyard, which has far too many dark corners, weird shadows and strange noises. To overcome the fear, Vanja turns into a dangerous tiger!
Robot thinks he has a wonderful joke, so he keeps trying to tell it, but none of the other robots ever laugh. They tell him “robots don’t tell jokes…” Will Robot give up on his awesome joke or will he find his tribe?
When 10 year old Chico’s grandmother uses Lotería to teach him a lesson about tradition and family, he’ll embark on a mysterious adventure to find a way to make up for his selfish behavior.
With A Little Help From Our Friends – March 19th @ 12:30 p.m.
These shorts celebrate friendship in all its forms, spanning ages, species, and circumstances. Friends help you find wonder, get you through hard times, and show you that you’re not alone in the world.
Winter in a Day is a 2D animated children’s short that follows two best friends, Bear and Fox, and the adventures they have on the last day before Bear’s hibernation as Fox creates winter in a day.
Nemo looks different. No one else wears a diving suit and a helmet that big. But then he meets Laika, an astronaut. With her help, Nemo becomes more self-confident and learns how old wounds can be overcome.
When 10 year old Chico’s grandmother uses Lotería to teach him a lesson about tradition and family, he’ll embark on a mysterious adventure to find a way to make up for his selfish behavior.
What is the most important thing on the last day of school before summer break? Well, if you’re Mia, Natalie and Jabari you frantically search for a date for Ms. Cheryl, the most beloved bus driver of all time!
A young boy takes on chores and small jobs around his neighborhood to raise money for a ticket to a magic show; but when his grandmother loses her job, he is faced with a difficult decision.
How To Fest
How to Attend
Screenings will take place over the two weekends during the festival (March 4-5 & March 10-12) at Baxter Avenue Theaters and the Speed Art Museum Cinema.
How to Buy Passes & Tickets
Festival Passes
Make the most of your LCCF experience with a festival pass! Passes are available for $30 and allow one child and one parent/guardian entry to all screenings during the festival. The pass is not printed. Your names will be on a list at the door. Just check in at the LCFF table in the lobby of the cinema.
Individual Tickets
You can purchase individual tickets to a film program by clicking the “Buy Tickets” button next to the program you’re interested in. Tickets are also sold at the cinema before the screening. The tickets are $5 per person.
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