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Festival Funday to delight families at The Times 52nd London Film Festival

Catering to film fans of all ages, The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival is delighted to announce a rich selection of nine international family-friendly films, alongside an expanded education programme that includes a range of stimulating lifelong learning events, and a record 24 free screening events. An exclusive animation workshop in association with Nexus Productions is open to Key Stage 2 pupils, and will introduce children to the increasingly popular world of computer animation under the guidance of professional animators.

Meanwhile, the film-scoring workshop will give Key Stage 4 music students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create their own film scores with help from renowned composer Michael Price (Harry Potter, Hot Fuzz). For undergraduates, a 16MM film-making workshop, shooting on location by the River Thames, will accompany special screenings of Nathaniel Dorsky’s experimental shorts.
Fun-filled half-term events for children include a Film Funday Workshop, which will host a free drop-in animation session for families.
In addition, a family-friendly screening of Mia and The Migou from France will be followed by an interactive event encouraging children to find creative ways to combat global warming, and No Network from Iceland will be followed by a lesson in survival skills by a real arctic explorer.

The half-term screenings are part of a diverse programme of nine films from around the world carefully selected for a family audience, including the European Premiere of The Secret Of Moonacre, this year’s Family Gala title. Based on Elizabeth Goudge’s popular children’s book The Little White Horse, the film is directed by Gabor Csupo (Bridge to Terabithia) and stars Ioan Gruffudd, Dakota Blue-Richards and Juliet Stevenson.

Recommended for ages eight plus are Max Minsky And Me from Germany, a smart and funny story about basketball, bat mitzvahs and the pains of growing up, and SOS – Summer Of Suspense from Norway - a thrilling adventure about a young girl’s quest to save a seal pup. The international theme is continued with Where is Winky’s Horse? from the Netherlands – a sequel to the heart-warming film Winky’s Horse, which screened at the LFF in 2005, and is recommended for an audience aged five plus.

Introducing family audiences to the delights of animation are the Danish features Sunshine Barry and The Disco Worms, the colourful story of one worm’s musical transformation, and A Tale of Two Mozzies, an anarchic tale of independence, music and honey. In addition, the Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences is a series of short child-friendly gems that complement the Education strand’s hands-on approach to animation.

Programme advisor for young audiences, Justin Johnson, comments: “This year’s festival showcases some of the very best animated and live-action titles for children from around the world.

“After the success of our monthly Family Fundays at BFI Southbank, we are delighted that this initiative will continue with our screening of Mia and The Migou. For some of our subtitled films, we will have the story read out via headphones to ensure that our younger audiences don’t miss out on the fun. Directors and actors will be present at a number of the screenings to meet the audience and answer their questions.