Tap-dancing turtles, cows on a caper, time-traveling laundry: 5th Gulf Film Festival lines up laughs, life lessons for children

New international animated shorts, endearing narratives to screen April 10 -16

Tap-dancing turtles, a cow on a mission to find its missing spots and a washing machine that features time travel as an option are among the stars of the children’s cinema programme that will screen free to the public as part of the fifth Gulf Film Festival in the UAE. All the films are brand new to the Middle East, with one film making its international premiere.

The five children’s films confirmed so far – from Canada, France, Taiwan and Portugal – are a mix of animated and traditional shorts, and take on both lighthearted and serious subjects. They will screen at Dubai Festival City’s Grand Cinemas between April 10 to 16, 2012, alongside the professional and student Gulf films and international films in the festival’s competition and out of competition segments.

Included in the lineup is Taiwanese entry Divine Intervention, by director Yen-Chi Tseng. The animated short film follows two turtles who make a living as street performers, until one day their hard-earned takings disappear without a trace, causing a rift in their friendship.

The Cow That Endeavoured to Look for Her Spots, an animated short by France’s Tristan Francia, revolves around V, a cow who enjoys nothing more than watching trains go by. One day, however, a passing train causes her black and white spots to fly away, leaving her naked and determined to find them.

From Canada, Danny Lynch’s narrative short The Washing Machine takes on a sensitive subject in an unusual manner. After his mother’s funeral, seven-year-old Samuel doesn’t know what to do with his grief. Then his dad lets his son in on a secret: their washing machine has a special feature that facilitates time travel – leading to an unusual bond between Samuel, his late mother and his home appliance.

The Brightest Star, by Portugal’s Joana Santos and Andre Matos, also tackles the subject of loss. In this animated film, Francesco can’t find a way to tell his son Vasco that his mother is dead, and instead tells him that she is in the stars. Vasco decides to build a cardboard spaceship to reach her. The film will make its international premiere in Dubai.

Last but not least, the Festival will also screen A Shadow of Blue, an animated short by France’s Carlos Lascano. A touching story in which fantasy and reality merge to make dreams come true, the film follows a little girl who rises above the reality around her to find an unexpected freedom in fantasy.

The five films will screen as a single package several times during festival week. The Children’s Cinema package, one of the festival’s most popular offerings, is renowned for bringing quality, culture-crossing tales to local audiences – one of the films in its last edition, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, won an Academy Award for best animated short earlier this year.

Additional children’s films will be announced next week.

GFF 2012 will be held from April 10 to 16, 2012, at the InterContinental Hotel, Crowne Plaza and Grand Festival Cinemas at Dubai Festival City; and from April 12 to 14 at the Abu Dhabi Theatre. The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the presenting sponsor of the Gulf Film Festival; Emirates airline is its official carrier. GFF is supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and held in association with Dubai Studio City.

More details and updates on the festival are available online at www.gulffilmfest.com