Sag Harbor Cinema announces the lineup of its second collaboration with the New York International Children Film Festival. Running March 16-17, the selection is specially-curated for the young audiences of the East End and their families. The festival will include three brand new, award winning feature length animated films as well as the popular Shorts for Tots, the program of shorts films aimed at budding cinephiles aged 3-6.
The 2024 weekend-long festival selection was curated for Sag Harbor Cinema by Maria-Christina Villaseñor, NYICFF’s Programming Director, in collaboration with SHC’s Founding Artistic Director, Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan.
“I am thrilled about the films we chose for the 2024 program. The features selection is pure joy – mostly the product of beautiful, traditional hand drawn animation at the service of contemporary storytelling, it reflects the universal quality that is at the soul of great cinema,” says D’Agnolo Vallan. “A silent film set in 1980’s New York, on the notes of Earth Wind & Fire, Robot Dreams is a love letter to the City; while in Kensuke’s Kingdom our audience will recognize the magic of marine life. Sirocco conjures Miyazaki and the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine in a tale about the power of fantasy and literature.”
“I’m so pleased to bring the zeitgeist of NYICFF 2024—and the electric charge that powerful, uniquely creative animation sparks in viewers and cultivates wonder—to Sag Harbor Cinema’s young audiences,” says Villaseñor. “This year’s core selection of features are among the best, most awe-inspiring film experiences of the year, and the recent Oscar nomination for Robot Dreams confirms that we’ve got a finger on the pulse of today’s best talents.”
Fresh off its Oscar nomination for best animated film and its successful world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Robot Dreams is directed by Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger (Blancanieves, 2013) and adapted from Sara Varon’s graphic novel of the same title. Set in the 1980s, the story features a lonely dog in New York who orders a robot from an infomercial. Once the tin man is assembled, Dog and Robot explore the city, ride the subway, shop at The Strand, visit Coney Island, and rollerskate to Earth, Wind, & Fire. With a world occupied exclusively by animals and a friendship that transcends language, Robot Dreams is a feast for the eyes and the heartwarming buddy film of the year. Screening Saturday, March 16th at 3:30pm.
Kensuke’s Kingdom, a beautifully animated film based on the 1998 book by British author and poet Michael Morpugo (War Horse), is an adventure story about a young boy shipwrecked on a remote island while sailing around the world with his family. After being separated from his mom and dad (voiced by Cilian Murphy and Sally Hawkins) and sister (voiced by Raffey Cassidy, White Noise) during a storm, 11 year-old Michael (voiced by newcomer Aaron MacGregor) and his dog, Stella Artois, wash up on a deserted beach. That is, until Michael meets Kensuke (voiced by Ken Watanabe), a Japanese former soldier who has been the island’s sole (human) inhabitant since World War II. Though Kensuke maintains rigid boundaries and rules, he and Michael form a bond as they team up to fend off invaders who theatren their secret paradise. The directing duo – veteran animator Neil Boyle (Space Jam, The Jungle Book 2) and Kirk Hendry – will join Sag Harbor Cinema from the UK for a virtual Q&A following the screening on Sunday, March 17th at 11:00am.
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2023 Annecy Film Festival, Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds is a psychedelic brainstorm from the mind of French animator Benoît Chieux (Aunt Hilda!). The film follows two sisters who, after their babysitter falls asleep, enter into another world when a curious figurine springing to life from their favorite book lures them into the fantastical Kingdom of the Winds. As they’re thrust into this dream world, they encounter a slew of its colorful inhabitants, including an operatic duck diva and the solitary King Sirocco, who controls the wind. With imagination and courage on their side, the girls must charm the sour king in order to make their way back home. Screening Sunday, March 17th at 2:30pm.
On March 16 and 17, Sag Harbor Cinema is also pleased to offer two Stop Motion Workshops for Kids in conjunction with its collaboration with the NYICFF. During the workshops, students will express themselves creatively by reinventing their favorite scenes from the weekend’s festival program using art supplies.
The first workshop (ages 4-9) will take place on Saturday, March 16 at 12:30pm, and the second (ages 10-18) will take place on Sunday, March 17 at 4:00pm. Both workshops will be held on the third floor of Sag Harbor Cinema in the Rosenberg Workspace, and will be approximately one hour in length. Registration is limited to 10 students per workshop. Those interested in attending can register for free at www.sagharborcinema.org. No experience is necessary, though the use of a personal mobile phone is required.
Tickets will be available on the cinema’s website, sagharborcinema.org.
For more information on the films, see details below:
Even without dialogue, this hand-drawn story about a dog and his robot captures all the sweetness that can span a friendship, whether it lasts for a reason or for a season.
New York City, 1980s. Dog lives an unassuming life among the bustle of the East Village. Feeling lonely, he orders Robot from a TV ad. Once assembled, Robot instantly becomes Dog’s most steadfast friend. Together, they explore the city, rollerskating and roaming to a near-constant thrum of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “September.” When the Coney Island seawater leaves Robot’s joints rusted stiff, Dog has no choice but to leave him behind. As the year wears on, their lives take different paths, but they’ll always hold each other in their hearts. City kids will appreciate the familiar sights and sounds of this animal-populated NYC—Subway drummers! Hot dogs in Central Park! A trip to the Strand!—only it’s an octopus rocking the buckets and a llama checking out books. Parents will appreciate they way Dog watches Robot experience it all for the first time. Sentimental audiences of all ages may want to bring tissues.
A gorgeously animated adaptation of the beloved chapter book about loss and friendship.
When a violent storm befalls his family’s sailing trip, Michael and his dog, Stella, are swept overboard. They awake dazed on a beautiful remote island where they must quickly find their wits and the resources to survive—a challenge no less steep for all the island’s beauty. Upon their return from an unsuccessful expedition, they may not be alone; someone has left water near their camp. Soon he meets his mysterious benefactor: an ornery Japanese man named Kensuke, who has been the island’s sole inhabitant since World War II. Despite Kensuke’s rigid boundaries and rules for the island, a friendship begins to form. It couldn’t come at a more fortuitous time, as dangerous invaders begin to threaten their secret world and they must work together to preserve their fragile paradise.
This skyward flight of fancy follows two sisters as they travel through their favorite story, where they meet a cast of characters in a Wizard of Oz meets Yellow Submarine fantasy land.
The meta-story begins when sisters Juliette and Carmen are sent to spend the weekend with Agnès, a talented story writer. But Agnès has a lot on her plate and, though she loves them dearly, decides to take a nap, leaving the girls to their own devices. So they seek adventure within the pages of their favorite story—literally. A curious figurine from the story springs to life and lures them into the fantastical Kingdom of the Winds. As they’re thrust into this fantasy world, they encounter a slew of its colorful inhabitants, including an operatic duck diva and the brooding King Sirocco, who controls the wind. With imagination and courage on their side, the girls must charm the sour king in order to make their way back home. Directed by three-time NYICFF alum Benoît Chieux (Mia and the Migoo, Aunt Hilda!, Tigers Tied Up in One Rope) and co-written by three-time NYICFF alum Alain Gagnol (A Cat in Paris, Phantom Boy, One Hell of a Plan).
Created for our youngest and first-ever moviegoers, but beloved by grown-ups, Shorts for Tots is sure to delight all audiences.
About the Sag Harbor Cinema
As a not-for-profit 501(c)3, community-based organization, Sag Harbor Cinema is dedicated to presenting the past, present and future of the Movies and to preserving and educating about films, filmmaking, and the film-going experience in its three state-of-the-art theaters. The Cinema engages its audiences and the community year-round through dialogue, discovery, and appreciation of the moving image – from blockbusters to student shorts and everything in between. Revitalized and reimagined through unprecedented community efforts to rebuild the iconic Main Street structure after a fire nearly destroyed it in 2016, SHC continues a long historic tradition of entertainment in the heart of Sag Harbor Village. SHC Members enjoy discounts on tickets and merchandise and have access to our member-only rooftop lounge, The Green Room.
