Milwaukee Children’s Film Festival

It’s a dream come true for Jonathan Jackson. Recently married, one might think that the idea for a children’s program during the Milwaukee Film Festival was a new idea from a man looking at life a little differently, perhaps, than in the past. But that’s not the case.

“I’ve been wanting to do this every year that I’ve been programming a film festival in Milwaukee, but was never able to pull it off because we just didn’t have the right organizational structure” Jackson explains. “This year we were finally able to because of generous funding for this specific project, so we were able to hire truly qualified individuals to bring this to fruition.”

Jackson is the Artistic and Executive Director of Milwaukee Film, producers of the Milwaukee Film Festival, now in its second year and slated to run September 23 through October 3, 2010.

The program, entitled Take One: Milwaukee Children’s Film Festival, won’t just showcase excellent children’s cinema from around the world. Each film will also feature a presenting media educator and take-home materials that tie into the title. Workshops will be held directly after each screening, where kids and parents can discuss the movie they just saw. Each theatre will also feature a family craft area where kids can complete a simple craft focusing on an element of filmmaking in order to further their learning experience.

Media literacy is the goal. “Kids today interact more today with visual images than with the written word,” says Jackson. “And kids who aren’t taught media literacy in school don’t always know that a commercial is a commercial. What this program does is help kids, and parents, to recognize images in context so they can make better decisions based on what they see. ” Festival organizers see the program as “a perfect opportunity to introduce area children and parents to films they’d otherwise not have the opportunity to see, and to teach them how to better absorb, analyze and appreciate film and mass media.”

It is vital that they are taught the basic principles of reading an image, in order to understand not only the image itself, but the context of the image. Something even as simple as understanding that a commercial is a commercial.

Take One programming was developed by co-Directors Julia Magnasco, Education Director at First Stage Children’s Theater, and Brian Gallagher, who holds an MFA in Film Production and is the former Executive Coordinator of the Wisconsin International Children’s Film Festival.

Take One will feature two full-length films and three shorts programs and will run each Saturday and Sunday of the 11-day Milwaukee Film Festival at various venues.

Tickets for the entire festival are on sale now, with package deals through September 1. The full schedule and festival program book will be released on Saturday, September 4 at Made In Milwaukee, a celebration of Milwaukee art, music, fashion, film and culture taking place in Cathedral Square Park (ThirdCoast Digest is a sponsor). Just can’t wait? Prior to the unveiling of the complete festival lineup, Milwaukee Film is announcing a title each day on their blog. The box office will open Thursday, September 9 for single screening tickets.

The lineup for Take One: Milwaukee Children’s Film Festival

Azur & Asmar (ages 6+)

 

A Shine of Rainbows (ages 6+)

Kid Shorts: Size Small (ages 3+)

Kid Shorts: Size Medium (ages 7+)

Kids Shorts: Size Large (ages 11+)