Wallace and Gromit Animator Highlights 14th Belmont World Film’s Family Fest

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Photo: Animator Merlin Crossingham

A talk and workshops from the animator responsible for the award-winning Wallace and Gromit films and the movies “Chicken Run” and “Shaun the Sheep” will highlight this year’s Belmont World Film’s 14th Annual Family Festival, “Where Books Come Alive,” Jan. 13-16.

The festival offers nearly four days of some of the world’s best films for children and adults, screened in English, or their native language with subtitles. Many are being shown in the US or on the East Coast for the first time; it might be your only time to see them in New England.  

A list of this year’s movies and workshops can be seen here.

“Where Books Come Alive,” features films based mostly on books: from Robert McCloskey’s American favorite Make Way for Ducklings, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, to a new film version of Heidi starring Bruno Ganz, based on Johanna Spyri’s Swiss classic childen’s book.

There are films about new siblings, friendship in South Korea, Vietnamese immigrants in Germany, Little League Baseball in Uganda, three 12 year-old boys from Brooklyn with a $1.8 million record deal, and so much more!

Thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the festival is bringing Aardman Animation’s Creative Director Merlin Crossingham “across the pond” from the UK to talk and sign autographs after a screening of the Oscar-winning “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” on opening night and to lead two workshops on model making – with Shaun the Sheep and Gromit – on Saturday, Jan. 14, hosted by the Belmont Media Center.

Donate a new or gently used children’s winter coat to Cradles to Crayons and receive a $1 discount on shorts programs and a $2 discount on feature length films.

Sponsors include:

Continent Sponsors: Jackson Walnut Park Schools, Henry Bear’s Park

Nation Sponsors: German International School of Boston, Dutch Culture USA

Province Sponsor: swissnex Boston

Capital Sponsors: Arlington Center for the Arts, Belmont Media Center, Guard Up

This program has also applied for support from the Arlington, Belmont, and Watertown Cultural Councils and Cambridge Arts.

Opening night at Belmont World Film Monday with NE Premiere of ‘Parisienne’

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Photo: Still from the movie Parisienne which has its New England premiere at the Belmont World Film at the Studio Cinema.

Opening night at Belmont World Film features the New England premiere of Parisienne on Monday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Rd.

Set during the 1990’s and based in part on director Danielle Arbid’s (director of Beirut Hotel shown at the festival in 2012) experience as a young émigré in Paris, the film follows 19-year-old Lina, who moves in with her aunt and uncle in order to attend a university. Alone and naive, Lina is looking for the freedom she has never found in her home country of Lebanon.

Parisienne is the first film in Belmont World Film’s 15th annual International Film Series, “To Have and Have Not,” which sheds light on the growing inequalities of wealth, class, race, and gender that affect society and on how such disparities are portrayed in art and popular culture in different parts of the world.

“In an industry that is currently under fire for lacking in female diversity, we are proud that a third of our films this year are directed by women, including this opening night film,” says Belmont World Film Executive Director Ellen Gitelman.

“Now that immigration plays such a large part of today’s political debate, opening with this film could not be more timely.”

Screenings take place mostly on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. at the Studio Cinema, except two screenings at the West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington St., on April 11 and 18, and two Sunday screenings on April 17 and May 15. The series is funded in large part by a $5,000 grant from Mass Humanities, which uses scholarly disciplines to enhance and improve civic life in Massachusetts. 

Tickets are $11 general admission and $9 for students and seniors in advance online and $12 and $10, respectively, at the door. The Belmont World Film “Passport” includes eight admissions for $75 and can be shared with one other person. Tickets for films, passports, and receptions are available online and passports are available for purchase in person for cash on the day of show starting 30 minutes prior to each screening.

For more information, visit the series’ web page, call 617-484-3980, like us on Facebook or follow us @BelmntWorldFilm.

This Weekend: Hoop Shoot-Out, Puppet Band, Belmont World Film Begins

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• Malaria is preventable yet claims a life every 60 seconds in Sub-Sahara Africa. On Saturday, March 21 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., you can help stem the disease’s tide by participating in the annual Imagine No Malaria’s Hoop Shoot-Out at Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church at 421 Common St. Anyone eight-years-years and older can join in on the fun: come ready to shot as many foul shots you can make in two minutes pledging any amount of money per made basket.

The funds raised will buy bed netting which will protect a family of four from infected mosquitoes. All shooters and sponsors are welcome. No registration is needed; make your own pledge sheet and just show up. Enter through the rear doors off the parking lot. 

• Toe Jam Puppet Band will be performing at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Saturday, March 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

• The 14th annual Belmont World Film International Film Series, “Secrets and Lies,” begins Sunday, March 22 at 7 p.m. in a new location – the West Newton Cinema at 1296 Washington St. – with the New England premiere of Ghadi, a good natured satire about bigotry and redemption that was the 2015 Oscar entry from Lebanon for Best Foreign Film. Get in contact with BFW at 617-484-3980 or egitelman@belmontworldfilm.org

The screening is preceded by a reception at 5:45 p.m. at the theater featuring Lebanese cuisine (a separate $15 admission) and is co-presented by American Friends of SESOBEL, which helps improve the quality of life and supports the families of children with mental and physical disabilities in Lebanon.