The Museum of Television & Radio's Twelfth International Children's Television Festival

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

New York Calendar & Program Descriptions

Costumed characters will drop in to meet and greet Festivalgoers each weekend.

Screenings and performances are free with general Museum admission.

Tickets for the performances are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the performance. Members may make complimentary reservations by calling (212) 621-6780 or by e-mailing membership@mtr.org.

Screenings will be preceded by short selections from UNICEF's Go Girls! profile; Triggerfish Animation, from Takalani Sesame and coproduced by Sesame Workshop and South African Broadcasting Corporation; and the Kristin Harris Design series I Want To Be and Now You Know, originally produced for HBO.

Saturday, November 8 & Sunday, November 9: Family

Costumed Characters: Both days: Bugs Bunny, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dexter, Liz from The Magic School Bus, The Powerpuff Girls, Robbie the Reindeer, and Scooby-Doo.

November 8 only: Pikachu and Spider-Man.

Screening (1:00 p.m.):

·Home Things: The Clothes and the Pegs (Portugal; 2003; 3 min.)

After a day of hanging out, a line of fresh laundry comes alive and gets frisky.

Stanley: Daddy Pride (United States; 2001; 12 min.)

Stanley dreams of being a lion cub-because then his daddy could play with him all day long! Dennis the goldfish, Stanley's mentor and confidant, sets him straight with lessons about the real workings of a wildcat family.

My Family and Me: Lilian and Her Family in Brazil (France; 2002; 13 min.)

This documentary peeks at the life of Lilian, a four-year-old living with her family in tight quarters with little money but lots of love.

United (United Kingdom; 2002; 15 min.)

Thomas believes he could be the best soccer player in the world if his pesky stepbrother Arthur just stopped trailing him everywhere! But what would happen if one day Arthur just...disappeared?

Mio and Mao: The Piglet (Italy; 1976; 5 min.)

Claymation kitties Mio and Mao rumble and tumble their way into adventure with a muddy, mischievous piglet.

Storytelling (2:00 p.m.): Traditional Native American Myths with Bobby Gonzales

Taino storyteller, poet, and scholar Bobby Gonzales will captivate the audience by weaving together tales from the native cultures of North, South, and Central America.

Screening (3:00 p.m.):

·Open A Door in South Africa: Yolanda (United Kingdom/South Africa; 2003; 5 min.)

Yolanda, a young girl fueled by boundless energy, runs her toy car into trouble-and turns to some neighborhood chickens for help.

·St. Andrew's Animation (United States; 2003; 3 min.)

Ten young animators from St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, collaborated to create this fluid reel of cartoons, including such surrealistic gems as "SpaceFace," "Brian's Eye...Or Something Like It," and "The Adventures of Über-Average Boy."

·Twins (Ireland; 2002; 14 min.)

In this touching documentary, a young girl named Anne introduces us to her twin sister Maggie, who suffers from cerebral palsy but lives a rich and full life.

·Aliens Among Us: Irián and Little Brother Telltale (Canada; 2002; 5 min.)

From his station in outer space, Cosnok the alien observes the limits of secrecy between Irián and his always-snitching little brother.

·The Goober Brothers: Auto Dance Suit (New Zealand; 2002; 2 min.)

Do you yearn to dance like a professional? The Goober Brothers' wacky invention can help you bust a move!

·Cool Sam & Sweet Suzie (Belgium; 2001; 15 min.)

Trapped in a public pool house after closing, siblings Sam and Suzie must mastermind an escape. Can they make it out before dinnertime?

Saturday, November 15 & Sunday, November 16: Challenges

Costumed Characters: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Liz from The Magic School Bus, and Popeye & Olive Oyl.

Screening (1:00 p.m.):

·Threadman-On the Sewing Table (Germany; 2002; 5 min.)

With no adults around to see, a sewing table turns into a small universe led by Threadman and his trusty pincushion puppy.

·Miffy and Friends: Miffy's Dancing Lessons (United States; 2003; 5 min.)

Aunty Alice, a former dancer, transforms Miffy and her friends from clumsy stumblers into potential prima ballerinas. Up, down, and around they go!

·Preschool Documentaries: Elsie Walks on Tin Cans (The Netherlands; 2003; 3 min.)

In one of a series of short documentaries about kids accomplishing small feats with great determination, Elsie makes a pair of shoes out of tin cans.

·Bidoum Bidoum: The Blue Bidoum Discovery (Switzerland; 2001; 4 min.)

What happens when a floppy rubber puppet gets hold of a skateboard and an electric drill? Bidoum Bidoum!!

·The Show with the Mouse: Eskimo (Germany; 2003; 5 min.)

Set adrift on a melting iceberg, an Eskimo and his penguin pal go from Pole to popsicle and back again.

·Puppety: Picknick (The Netherlands; 2001; 5 min.)

This little wooden puppet is determined to eat an apple twice his size-but how?

·Muted Music (Iceland; 2002; 15 min.)

Hanna is a young violin prodigy with a bright future. When an unforeseeable tragedy occurs, she must learn new ways to find harmony.

Performance (2:00 p.m.): Viva Flamenco

This lively dance troupe will keep the audience clapping and shouting "Olé!" to the fiery music, song, and dance of the Andalusian gypsies of Southern Spain. Children will be invited on stage to try the stomping footwork and undulating hand and arm movements of Flamenco.

Screening (3:00 p.m.):

·Pingu: Pingu and Pinga Play Records (Germany/Switzerland/The Netherlands; 1996; 5 min.)

Eager to move their listening party outside the igloo, Pingu and his little sister experiment with sources of energy-and frustration!

Open A Door in Taiwan: Wen-Zheng (United Kingdom/Taiwan; 2003; 6 min.)

Wen-Zheng embarks on a heroic journey through the Taiwanese countryside after his grandfather, a professional puppeteer, leaves one of his starring characters behind.

·Worst Best Friends: The Excursion (Australia; 2002; 25 min.)

When a class trip to the local bottle collection plant goes awry, Dusting, Millicent, and Thesaurus find themselves too close for comfort-and accident-prone to the max.

·Easy as Pie!: Peanut Butter (The Netherlands; 2003; 7 min.)

Two hungry chefs-in-training get a little . . . nutty in this delightful cooking show for children.

·Gilbert and the Potatoes (France; 2001; 5 min.)

A gang of wild potatoes is on the loose! Can Gilbert and his neighbors control the stampede?

Saturday, November 22 & Sunday, November 23: Journeys

Costumed Characters: Clifford the Big Red Dog and Popeye & Olive Oyl.

Screening (1:00 p.m.):

·Open A Door in Colombia: Simon (United Kingdom/Colombia; 2003; 5 minutes)

Entrusted with the day's grocery money, Simon encounters temptation left and right, but dances all the way home with yams in tow.

·Locomotion!: Viet in Vietnam (France; 2002; 13 minutes)

This delightful documentary-one of a series chronicling modes of transport around the world-takes us to Vietnam, where Viet traverses his town by boat and bike before trekking to a nearby town with his father.

·Mamemo: Here Comes the Sun (France/Belgium; 2000; 4 minutes)

Mamemo and his sidekick, an enthusiastic shape-changing cow, bounce through a tropical paradise till the sun signals it's time to drift away.

·Life in a Drawer (Germany; 2002; 3 minutes)

Left to their own devices, a posse of garments leap out of the dresser and into action!

·Quaqquao: The Horse (Italy; 1975; 6 minutes)

A sprightly duck finds adventure with a magic horse in this innovative program of origami animation.

·Willoughby Drive: The Talking Horse (United Kingdom; 2003; 10 minutes)

A talking horse has been stolen, and it's up to the amateur detectives of Willoughby Drive to return him to safety!

· Tiny Planets: Easy Rider (United Kingdom; 2001; 5 minutes)

Bing and Bong are ready to take their planet by storm with a new set of hot cycling wheels-just as soon as they figure out how to ride them!

Performance (2:00 p.m.): The Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater:

Winter Tales with Strings

Vit Horejš performs a one-man show of Czech fairy tales populated with kings, clever village maidens, witches, and spirits. His marionettes speak in a dozen voices, dance, play violin, swim, and fly.

Screening (3:00 p.m.):

·Peo in Switzerland: Jura (Switzerland; 2000; 3 minutes)

Peo, an energetic puppy, encounters a world of amusements in his journeys through the Swiss countryside. Cheeses and haystacks and horses, oh my!

·Tom in the Box (Switzerland; 2002; 15 minutes)

Tom, the child of divorced parents, wants more than anything to spend his birthday with his father. Can he successfully orchestrate a very special delivery?

Move Over, Moon (United States; 2003; 3 minutes)

Created by a team of Maryland high-schoolers, these shorts showcase some extraordinary night visions.

·Nuligak's Light (Canada; 2001; 24 minutes; with subtitles)

When an arctic expedition turns into an epic adventure, a young Inuit boy's bravery is put to the test.

Saturday, November 29 & Sunday, November 30: Life Lessons

Costumed Character: Clifford the Big Red Dog

Screening (1:00 p.m.):

·The Box (Japan; 2001; 10 minutes)

In a classic morality tale enlivened by quirky humor and vibrant claymation, a greedy mouse learns an important lesson about wishing outside of the box.

·Snailympics: Blume, the Blue Snail (Spain; 1999; 6 minutes)

When green snail Gummy switches teams with true-blue Blume, their respective cohorts face a difficult dilemma: Can't we snails just get along?

·Funny Little Bugs: Suzy Spider, Prisoner of the Castle (France; 1996; 8 minutes)

Suzy Spider is so very misunderstood! Can she earn acceptance from her fellow insects by weaving a webbed masterpiece?

Ducklings (Switzerland; 2002; 15 minutes)

Unbeknownst to their parents, Saartja and her cousin fetch some forbidden ducklings from the local pond-but soon discover that caring for them is harder than they'd imagined.

·The Moment When (Finland; 2001; 4 minutes)

Residents of a wintry city come together silently in this film about choosing and being chosen.

Screening (3:00 p.m.):

·Open A Door in the USA: Gail (United Kingdom/United States; 2003; 5 minutes)

From upside-down dangling (hiccup!) to sugar devouring (hiccup!), Gail can't seem to find a remedy for her stubborn affliction!

·Laura's Star: The Gift (Germany)

Laura knows just the thing to give Paul for his birthday: a box of starlight! What happens when her best friend Sophie vies for his affections with a flashier present?

·BritneyBob and JenniferJohn: Paul the Pirate (Denmark)

Cousin Paul is hyper, delusional, and yet also-somehow!-a welcome addition to the mild-mannered JenniferJohn/BritneyBob household.

Lizzie McGuire: Inner Beauty (United States; 2002; 23 minutes)

As Miranda learns the moves for an upcoming dance performance, she forgets something far more important: how to love herself just the way she is.

Note: There are no performances/workshops scheduled for this weekend.