
For and about children and young people, this selection of international films shows us the magic of discovery and the struggle of being young as well as the power kids have to influence the world around them.
BAXU AND THE GIANTS
NAMIBIA

Directed by Florian Schott
Written by Florian Schott & Girley Jazama
Produced by Andrew Botelle, Girley Jazama & Florian Schott
Language: English, Khoekhoegowab & Afrikaans
Duration: 28 mins
Fiction
Baxu, a 9-year-old girl, lives a peaceful life with her older brother Khata and an alcoholic grandmother in rural Namibia until strange men show up and cause a change in the village.
Instagram: @baxuandthegiants
Facebook: facebook.com/baxuandthegiant
Website: baxuandthegiants.com
Suggested Age Rating: PG
BUBBLES
UK

Directed & Produced by Meg Dupont
Language: English
Duration: 3 mins
Animation // Student
Made during the UK’s national lockdown in 2020, Bubbles brings together real pen-pals to read their real letters, conjuring up the memories of adolescence, innocence and honesty that became the building blocks to great friendships.
Website: megdupont.com
Suggested Age Rating: U
MARIA CAMILA’S GIFT
COLOMBIA

Written, Directed & Produced by Andrés Molano Moncada
Language: Spanish
Duration: 12 mins
Fiction
In a park, 9-year-old Maria Camila gives passersby a sheet of paper that she’s written on. Immediately after reading the paper, people start to impersonate different animals. What power does Maria Camila have to transform them?
Facebook: facebook.com/elregalodemariacamila
Suggested Age Rating: U
NO COMMENT
IRAN

Written, Directed & Produced by Zhivar Farajzadeh
Language: Kurdish
Duration: 4 mins
Fiction // Student
Written and directed by 14-year-old Zhivar Farajzadeh, we see what life for the “garbage children” in Tehran is like in this age of Covid. Though the government says it is helping protect these children from the disease, the reality may be different.
Suggested Age Rating: PG
OH MOON, WHAT ABOUT BREAD
LEBANON

Written, Directed & Produced by Lynn El Safah
Language: Lebanese Arabic
Duration: 6 mins
Experimental // Student
The main character gets bombarded with thoughts and memories. She takes a long stroll in the park to look for some peace of mind.
Instagram: @lynn.sa
Suggested Age Rating: 12 (some short sequences of real life footage of rioting and violence)
SNAKE
MACEDONIA

Written & Directed by Andrey Volkashin
Produced by Elena Stanisheva
Language: Macedonian
Duration: 20 mins
Fiction // Queer
A bitter-sweet story about the friendship between a 9-year-old daredevil Mario and an eccentric gay man, Borche, as they are challenged by the prejudices and hatred simmering in a small and remote Macedonian town.
Instagram: @shortfilmsnake
Suggested Age Rating: 12A (images of violence by children to children and adult to children & discriminatory language)
THE FLEXED ARM HANG
CANADA

Directed & produced by Findlay Brown
Written by Findlay Brown & Adriano Magnifico
Language: English
Duration: 6 mins
Fiction // Student
A young boy attempts to get a silver medal in the most daunting of middle school tests: the flexed arm hang.
Website: www.theflexedarmhang.com
Suggested Age Rating: U
WHITE NIGHT
ALGERIA

Written, directed & produced by Issam Taachit
Language: no dialogue
Duration: 7 mins
Fiction / Animation
Snow covers everything, accumulating in the trees until three snowballs form to begin a magical journey down the mountainside in this wintry Algerian animation.
Facebook: facebook.com/Film-White-Night
Suggested Age Rating: U