By Hana Lewis.

It is rare to find a film festival which caters specifically for the discriminating palette of a child.

The Travelling Picture Show comes from the proud hosts of the Flatpack Festival,7 Inch Cinema. This unique and colourful festival of international children’s film will be screened in venues around the West Midlands this summer.

Based upon the classic matinee experience of the fifties and sixties, the tour brings The Red Balloon by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse back onto our cinema screens. This enchanting feature sits alongside modern animations about cats and creepy crawlies, a diverse selection of shorts, music videos and workshops.

 

Programme Highlights:

Komaneko an is an industrious little cat whose attempts at animation will open up impressionable eyes to a world of unseen filmmaking. Director Tsuneo Goda has created a feature version of a Japanese TV series, using technical skill to bring charming hand made characters to life.

The simple narrative of The Red Balloon will send the aging voyeur, joyfully to the realm of childhood, a place where magic realism defines the friendship between Pascal and a mute, shiny, balloon. This Oscar winning film is packed with moral value for the child who dreams of hope and freedom in a world riddled with bullies.

The Bugs and Beasts programme includes a variety of short films from a predominantly European market including an amusing Hungarian short by Alexei Alexeyev called KLFG no. 5 in which a musical trio of unlikely animals are interrupted by the wandering hunter.

The Fantastic Planet selection includes a film by Sally Pearce, called Elephants, about a lonely child who’s grey and dreary existence is transformed when her house in infested with elephants who can’t be seen as they crash about in the night.

Along with activities and giveaways, the Magic Box workshops will allow children to create a real animated chain film, to be screened at the closing gala.

Supported by the National Lottery through ScreenWM and First Light Movies, this unique film festival will serve up welcome variety to any child’s cinematic diet.

 

Complete Tour Schedule:

Lichfield Festival, Saturday 18th July

The Lighthouse, Wolverhampton. Wednesday 22nd July.

Number 8, Pershore. 23th-30th July.

Artrix, Bromsgrove. Saturday 25th July & 1st.

Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford. Saturday 25th July & 19th September.

The Hive, Shrewsbury. Sunday 13th September, www.hiveonline.org.uk

Market Theatre, Ledbury. Saturday 19th September.

Courtyard, Hereford. Saturday 26th September.

Electric Cinema, Birmingham. Sunday 25th October.

Shift_Time Festival of Ideas, Shrewsbury. 3rd-12th July.

Summer Sundae Festival, Leicester. 14th-16th August.

Green Man Festival, Glanusk Park, Wales21st – 23rd August.

 

Contact the venue for booking now. Visit 7 Inch Cinema for further information.

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