Powerful films for ages 9+
Presented in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Black stories take the spotlight as we highlight films that share the joy, determination, resilience, and complexity of being Black and young. Explore a range of genres and styles in a program that spans the globe.
Title: Comic Escape
United States, Live Action, Alphonso McAuley, 2021, 15 min. In English.
A young boy unexpectedly finds a comic book that changes his reality.
Title: Cupids
United States, Live Action, Zoey Martinson, 2021, 10 min. In English.
This whimsical, comedic love letter to New York’s essential workers follows a whole class on the last day of school as they scheme to find the perfect partner for their adored bus driver, Ms. Cheryl, and save her from a lonely summer without them.
Title: Generation Impact: The Coder
United States, Documentary, Samantha Knowles, 2021, 7 min. In English.
Jay Jay Patton was only 13 when she designed and built an app to help kids connect with their incarcerated parents, inspired by her own experience. Now she is creating a coding academy to help other kids do the same.
Title: My Name is Maluum
Brazil, Animation, Luísa Copetti, 2021, 8 min. In Portuguese, with English subtitles.
Maluum comes from a home filled with love and Afro-centric references. When her classmates tease her about her name, Maluum discovers the lovely legacy of her name and ancestry.
Title: The Night I Left America
Uganda, United States, Live Action, Laki Karavias, 2021, 14 min. English and Luganda with English subtitles.
While anxiously awaiting the results of his mother’s visa renewal request, a teenage boy living in Texas conjures up memories of his former life in Uganda.
Title: Room Rodeo
United States, Live Action, Daniel Kayamba, 2021, 14 min. In English.
Grounded, and with a last-minute school project due, Jamil takes matters into his own hands to prove he is the great-grandson of a legendary Black cowboy.
Title: Wolf and Cub
United States, Animation, Marvin Bynoe, 2021, 8 min. In English.
A father and son cross a world of imagination to return their mother’s forgotten lunch.
