The Macao Cultural Centre, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents “ARTmusing Film Carnival” featuring eight international films curated for younger audiences. Depicting a diversity of lives and social portraits, capturing different cultures and distinct cinematic styles, the series is bringing a screening for everyone, from children with their parents to teenagers.
Growing Up with the movies
Children’s first contact with cinema generally happens through the simple yet emotional narratives introduced and depicted by animation. Such are the cases of “Molly Monster”, a story from the perspective of a little girl who will soon become a big sister, and “Ballerina”, an animation using Pixar-level technology that follows the inspirational and moving story of a small kid on her brave journey to pursue a dream.
The screening sessions will also address themes such as the autism portrayed in “Life, Animated”, telling the adventure of a boy who reconnects with the world through Disney characters, revealing the magical life-changing power of cinema. Nominated for an Oscar this year, this film uses both animation and documentary format to tell an “uplifting story”. Directed by Roger Ross Williams, “Life Animated” won the Directing Award (Documentary) at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016.
On the environmental front, the display features “Landfill Harmonic” a documentary which follows a group of Paraguayan youngsters that create musical instruments out of discarded garbage to form an orchestra. Guided by Favio Chavez, an idealistic music director, the group is suddenly catapulted into the global spotlight, thrown into a strange new world of sold-out arenas and concert halls.
There is also room for comedy, with the German fantasy “Help! I Shrunk My Teacher”, a story bound to appeal to any student who has ever entertained wacky desires at school. The Film Carnival will move on, traveling through closer latitudes, taking the audience to South Korea with the production “The World of Us”, a fresh and moving story on the delicate friendship between two little girls, and “Packages from Daddy”, a Taiwanese film about a family’s cathartic journey after the death of the father.
Still on the eclectic alignment, the audience is invited to see how children from other countries strive to pursue their dreams in “The Big Day”, a portrait of four kids from different places and backgrounds who must rewrite their lives, breaking all religious, gender and class barriers to assert their independence.
Tickets for all “ARTmusing Film Carnival” are on sale at CCM’s box office and Macao Ticketing Network outlets, available at various discounts. For enquiries please visit CCM’s website at www.ccm.gov.mo or call (853) 2870 0699. Credit card ticketing hotline (853) 2840 0555.