The Gulf Film Festival (GFF), is showcasing an impressive repertoire of international movies for children, some inspiring tales of friendship, others adventures that are billed to appeal to young ones of all ages. Cinema for Children, one of the four segments at GFF, will showcase movies from across the world this year that have been hand-picked to appeal to the multicultural audience in Dubai. Masoud Amralla Al-Ali, Festival Director, said that the ‘Cinema for Children' segment is hugely popular among the little ones for the refreshing breadth of films it showcases. “Children's films have evolved considerably over the years moving from fairy tales to contemporary stories and no holds barred fantasy. The GFF showcase of children's movies are powerful tales, visually compelling and thematically brilliant.” Based on the award winning book by Oliver Jeffers, “Lost and Found” is the story of a boy who finds a penguin on his doorstep and decides to take it home, even if it means rowing it all the way to the South Pole. Directed by Phillip Hunt, the movie has won 25 international awards including best TV special 2009 at Annecy International Animation Festival, grand prize for the best animation at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and best kids film at the Melbourne International Festival. “Pigeon: Impossible” from the USA is a quirky tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem that he does not know how to deal with: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase. The film took nearly five years to complete and is the first attempt at animation by writer/director Lucas Martell. The end-result is a hilarious six-minute romp through the streets of Washington D.C. as our hero fights to save himself, and the world from the chaos reigned down by a hungry pigeon. Full of touching themes, the story “Warda,” a film from Belgium, is about a young girl who brings food to her grandmother everyday when one day she is faced by a giant wall blocking her way. The film is directed by Louise-Marie Colon, who was a primary school teacher before studying animation at the National Superior School of Visual Arts, La Cambre, in Brussels. The films from France include; “Silence beneath the bark,” a fairytale directed by Joanna Lurie, is about funny little creatures who discover snow and it takes them in a whirlwind of enjoyment. “Inka Bola,” a technically and visually compelling movie, is set on an impossibly high tower somewhere in the Andes where a neglected guard and a boy head off on a dangerous journey. The film, directed by Jacques Jarczyk, Floriane Marchix, Melodie Cisinski, Vincent Garcia and Gwenole Oul'chen develops into a classic chase sequence with a darkly humorous conclusion. “Pandore,” a film by Meryl Franck, Nicolas Caffare, Marion Stinghe, Benoit Guillaumot and Elen Le Tannou narrates the adventure of a young girl who sets free a dangerous monster from a mysterious box. “Miriam's Broken Picture” is a silent movie from Estonia by Priit Tender, and is about a girl named Miriam who decides to take the blame when her younger brother accidentally breaks their parents' wedding photo. Since the movie's release in 2009, the short film has clinched 12 awards from different film festivals across the world.
