Despite being a fan of Star Wars, it was refreshing to find out about another cinema venture taking place amidst The Force Awakens mania happening here in Miami.
The 3rd Annual Miami Int’l Children’s Film Festival opened Saturday December 26, 2015 and proceeded throughout the week to offer a variety of feature length movies, as well as a short films for children’s ages 5 and up. The festival took place in The Coral Gables Art Cinema in downtown Coral Gables located at 260 Aragon Avenue. The festival’s weekend opening offered balloons and face painting for the children outside the theater on Perrin Plaza while inside a variety of stuffed animals decorated the theater seating making the setting all the more inviting for children.
Midge Blumberg-Krams, host of the festival, introduced a variety of cinematic delights for children of all ages. She described the event in its previous 2 years of existence as being a weekend long event in the month of October. Due to its growing success, the event expanded this year into a week long celebration. Its timing could not have been more perfect catering to children on their holiday vacation from school. Whether it was hand drawn animation based on a Finnish Illustrator’s comic strip(Moomins on the Riviera) to a a 3D live action wildlife adventure(Enchanted Kingdom 3D), the festival delivered in entertaining its audience. My imagination was tested during the screening of The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow, a sci-fi fantasy extravaganza from South Korea that is as action packed and romantic as it is eccentric.(Spoiler alert. You will never see a more animated or charismatic role of toilet paper in cinema than you will in this film.) In my opinion, the crème de la crème of the festival came with the screening of AninA, a delightful film from Uruguay which I would highly recommend you look for and watch. The film’s imagination and realism of a young girl trying to navigate an event in her early childhood will bring a smile to your face.
In conjunction with the festival, the Coral Gables Museum held workshops for kids ages 6-12 learning about stop-motion animation. Groups of children came together in the animation classes creating a variety of stories which were then scanned frame by frame, saved and sent electronically to all who participated.
This festival is an event here in Coral Gables to be proud of and put down on your calendar for next year and the year to follow. Midge Blumberg-Krams and her husband Steven Krams, founder of the Coral Gables Art Cinema, have delivered an event here to the community that is a terrific outlet for children and their families. The Krams continue to promote a family affair experience by offering a movie at the Coral Gables Art Cinema for children every 2nd Saturday and Sunday of the month for only $5 a ticket which includes a free popcorn and soda. Come out for The Family Day On Aragon Block Party this coming Saturday, January 9 at 10 a.m. This partnership between the cinema, Books & Books and the Coral Gables Museum will feature a slew of activities outside on the block as well as screenings of cartoons and classic silent films in the cinema.