Kids Fest bigger, more sophisticated

2010 Traverse City Film Festival

Related Photos

Twin siblings, from left, Margaret and Peter Worden, 7, of Traverse City, and thier mother, Michele, have their tickets collected at the State Theatre for Wednesday morning's "The Secret of Kells." Jan-Michael Stump/Record-Eagle

August 1, 2010

Non-mainstream movies can be seen by children

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS mdrahos@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Sun Aug 01, 2010, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Doug Spence put his children to bed late after the Open Space film. Then he woke them up early for the kids' movie at the State Theatre.

"Exposing the kids to non-mainstream movies is what we like to do," said Spence, a family physician and father of Wave, 4, and Douglas, 6. "And they love the festival atmosphere, seeing all their friends."

Family and children's films have been a staple of the Traverse City Film Festival since it began six years ago. This year's Kids Fest, though small, was bigger and more sophisticated than the first.

The mini festival-within-the-festival featured four films instead of one — including its first with English subtitles.

"It was a film that we wanted and we found out it wasn't available dubbed in English," said Executive Director Deb Lake, of the 2009 Japanese movie "Oblivion Island."

"We could have chosen another movie but we thought, 'Let's try it and see what happens,'" she said. "It's a beautiful animated film, incredibly complex. We're interested to see what kind of reception we get."

In a film panel on Thursday, Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Michael Barker said he doesn't think subtitles impede younger movie-goers from seeing a film and pointed to the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." He said kids are accustomed to sending texts and reading crawls on the bottom of TV screens.

Tina Beatty and son Joe had tickets for all four films. Beatty is self-employed and said she worked her schedule around the traditional 9:30 a.m. movies at the State.

"These are made a lot better (than mainstream children's movies)," said Beatty, who attended at least one of the films with friend Barry O'Brien and his son, Robert. "There's more thought to them, more art."

Beatty and O'Brien, who took festival week off to boat and see movies with his family, were among hundreds of adults who brought their children to Kids Fest this year. But the films aren't just for kids, say festival officials.

"The adults like them as much as the kids. We've had them come without kids," said Bette Wattles-Williams, one of several Kids Fest volunteers along with costumed "Popcorn Man" Al Lien, who handed out "It's Great At The State" stickers to children in line.

Jim Frew took time off from work Wednesday to see the Oscar-nominated "The Secret of Kells" alone. He also attended "Kirikou and The Sorceress" on Thursday with grandson Alex, 11.

"It took animation to a whole new level as an art, and it had a meaningful message about toleration — toleration of religion, toleration of race," Frew said.

"Kirikou" was one of three films with French origins this year. Others were "Kells," a collaboration between France, Belgium and Ireland, and "Eleanor's Secret." Lake said the latter, about the joy of reading, is "one of my favorite animated films of all time."

Attendance at the children's films has been slow to grow, partly because the Kids Fest isn't well known, said Assistant Box Office Manager Travis Fink.

"We sell out the kids' matinees at the State on normal weekends, but I don't think the kids' films at the festival have been well publicized, and people haven't really caught on," Fink said. "And I think a lot of the people who come to the festival don't have kids."

He said the early start time also may be a problem for some.

But Lake said parents often are willing to get their kids out of bed for something special.

"Once a year it may be worth getting up early and going to a special film because these aren't films we would show outside the festival," she said.

In any case, Lake said the festival always will have a small kids' festival.

"We could grow, but we are definitely committed to bringing to kids some of the same kinds of independent films that we bring to adults," she said.