Finding Felix or The Impact of International Film on Childhood Autobiographical Memory published on Researchgate

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337498859_Finding_Felix_or_The_Impact_of_International_Film_on_Childhood_Autobiographical_Memory

Final Interviews 2019

Vincent Förster and Moritz Klein formed a friendship around international cinema. Shown here first in their first 2011 interview followed with their February 2019 interview. Their experience meeting as young teens, initially as young jury members and then as young journalists, in 2006 at the Berlinale sealed a bond around reflection on film and discussion.  Through this rough clip, it is clear to see how their lives and cinema have influenced each other.

FINDING FELIX: 10:00 Clip (rough cut)

The Children's Filmfest at the Mill Valley Film Festival is 20 year old.

The Children's Filmfest at the Mill Valley Film Festival is 20 years-old this year.

With ground work done in 1993 with my first program, Films for People 4 and UP, the festival allowed me to return from my year at the Chicago Children's International Film Festival to establish the Children's Filmfest in 1995.

I wrote the following in an application for a role as a Learning Designer with a firm I've admired since learning so much about it in graduate school. This paragraph is a "Little darling" that I had to do away with from that text, but couldn't part with it because its history is so dear to me and my development as researcher, filmmaker, designer - contributor.

The Academy Award Winning film, “The Fantastic Voyage” (US1966) curated for the newly established Children’s Filmfest at the Mill Valley Filmfest did as I had designed it to do: it generated wonder about the human body. This was  evident  in vibrant conversation between the young audience, the director, Richard Fleischer, and his medical consultant. “Is it really that loud in the heart?” a seven year-old boy asked.  Fleischer responded that he had used actual recordings of the heartbeat and put himself inside the sound in a sound booth so he could understand what it would be like inside a heart. He imparted his creative combination of Science and Art. I didn’t follow up on this boy -I wouldn't doubt it if he went into Medicine-but I did keep contact with one very impressive child who I met while serving on an award jury in 2001. Felix had spent his childhood seeing films and participating in conversations with directors at the Berlin Film Festival’s children and youth section, more than ten years later I sought evidence of its impact.  That story is here, "Finding Felix."

This letter from Androulla Vassiliou, EU Minister of Culture, Education, 

Multilingualism and Sport is great encouragement.  

Sunday 8 Feb 15 LA MAS GRANDE CASA DEL MUNDO

Sunday 8 Feb 15

The German word stille is apparent this morning.  A Sunday morning in the middle of Berlin is stille as I ride through Mitte to the HKW for a 10am film, sunshine and blue sky after a stormy night. 

The Biggest House in the World, LA MAS GRANDE CASA DEL MUNDO

Two female co-directors and lead actress reflect the all female focus on screen.  “Where is the papa?” a girl asks during Q&A.  It is explained this is normal to have grandmother, mother and daughter since father is away working somewhere else. A knowing chortle ripples through the crowd.

Beautiful high desert landscape with hills, sagebrushed ravinesand rocky crags presented patiently as the young girl charged with tending family sheep enter the frame.

Economic casting served the film, reflecting the sparse population; three children, a mother, grandmother and an old medicine man lent themselves gracefully to the camera in this rugged landscape.

The film had been work-shopped in five or more festivals since 2009 a force of determination…and an encouragement for me and FINDING FELIX.           

Yesterday, I met Felix’s (Finding Felix) mother, Erica, as it seems magically regular that I do at the beginning of each festival.  Warmth and respect for her superceeded my unfinished film sheepishness (pun intended) as I greeted her.  She is an introverted mathematician who loves international cinema; the only artform, she said in our 2011 interview, that she likes.

I’ll go to the market to request a meeting at UniFrance…the leader in European film export of films for young audiences to the U.S.  

Later today, the Ukrainian film board will give a state of their nation presentation at their market stall.  I will attend.

The Americans at the IFP Stand gave an excellent panel on documentary markets.

I’ll attend Kulinarishes Kino for Gary Meyer’s new Eat, Drink, Films Festival.  The Korean film tonight is appropriately named OMNIVOROUS FAMILY. 

Was happy to see Berkeley’s Alice Waters receive an award recognizing her ten years of contribution to the Kulinarische Kino along with Carlo Petrini.  Waters in turn paid tribute to Tom Luddy who introduced her to French Cinema and Marcel Pagnol for whose film her Chez Panisse is named.

Berlinale 2015: Generation

Berlinale 2015, Day 1

It is a pleasure to be in Berlin again for the film festival; this time, once again, as an American resident.  Despite my many years participating in this festival, each year begins with a new approach. 

My great discovery is not focusing on the films but on attending the market on the opening days: 

It’s the start of the festival, people are fresh and ready to receive.  My purpose is doubled this year as I support Gary Meyer’s new film festival Eat, Drink Films, opening in the Bay Area this October.   It is delightful to ask for films for food, wine and children. Most delightful are the faces of the human film archives who are the distribution companies, as they scroll through their mental lists of films with food, wine and children!  As interested as I am to find out about new culinary films, I am very pleased to note that so far, new films for young audiences are more abundant.

PRINCE  by Sam de Jong

The Generation section opens tonight with a feature animation, MINI AND THE MOZZIES from long-loved Danish animator Jannik Halstrup, for the youngest viewers.  The 14+  division of the section opens with PRINCE  (Netherlands) by Sam de Jong.

Americans in the line-up, showing a considerable increase in the past few years:

GOLDEN KINGDOM by Brian Perkins

KPlus for children up to fourteen years old:

GOLDEN KINGDOM by Brian Perkins

KUMA HINA short  by Dean Hammer and Joe Wilson.

14Plus for fourteen and older:

DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL
by Marielle Heller with Kristen Wiig

ONE & TWO by Andrew Droz Palermo


Shorts

HADIATT IDI  by Salam Salman

STAY AWAKE by Jamie Sisley 

BLOODLINES by Christoper Nataanii Cegielski

SQUIRREL by Tomas Vengris, US/Greece

Co-production films from Afghanistan and Irak make an important show in the program.

HADIATT IDI (Irak/GB/Niederland/USA) tells the story of a boy remembering his parents’ death.

MINA WALKING by Yosef Baraki

MINA WALKING (Kanada, Afghanistan) shows the turning point for a 12 year-old girl in a country dominated by men, who holds everything in her family together but knows there is something else.

www.berlinale.de/de/das_festival/sektionen_sonderveranstaltungen/generation/index.html

This is an eleven-minute clip of FINDING FELIX including clips of film memories.
http://youtu.be/eyZKRPbflJI

It should be noted that FINDING FELIX production is informed by the best practices for use of film clips as set forth in "Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use" 2005 publication and the survey by Patricia Aufderheide and Aram Sinnreich showing that these practices are becoming increasingly accepted.
http://www.cmsimpact.org/blog/fair-use/good-news-growing-acceptance-fair-use-documentary

Finding Felix Trailer and Crowdfunding Pitches

First Trailer, 3:00

Pitch featuring the great French animator Michel Ocelot, 5:00.

Additional pitch for further information, 5:00.

Happy New Year: A Message to Children

A wish for children from a couple of two impressive young filmmakers

Brother - Sister filmmaking duo Aissa (13) and Kahina (11) offer a message to other children in the world, to inspire them to engage in something that interests them. 

Their film THE RETURN OF THE REPRESSED a short documentary exploring the history of Morocco, is making its festival rounds now. 

Aissa and Kahina, with their father Youssef present the value of international films for language learning in FINDING FELIX www.findingfelixproject.blogspot.com

Finding Felix in Post-Production

Finding Felix has gathered all of its footage and is in post-production.  Our Kickstarter campaign included our fiscal sponsor to capture donations even if the goal wasn't reached.   And they are still ready to receive.  See Finding Felix on the Cinefemme site. 

Los Angeles-based Cinefemme is an organization that supports women producers and filmmakers.
They provide fiscal sponsorship which offers their 501 (c) 3 non-profit status to make it possible to receive grants.  For the service, they garner 5% from the total donations.  Crowdfunding sites, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, are really fiscal sponsors.  Cinefemme has helped me with two other projects prior and I'm grateful they're with us again.  Here's section from their site and the reason why I'm happy Cinefemme.net is on my side:

Cinema as Art

Profit-driven films should not rule the world. In her article The Decay of Cinema, Susan Sontag writes:

"To be sure there was always a conflict between cinema as an industry and cinema as an art, cinema as routine and cinema as experiment. But the conflict was not such as to make impossible the making of wonderful films, sometimes within and sometimes outside of mainstream cinema. Now the balance has tipped decisively in the favor of cinema as an industry."

Cinefemme aims to tip the scales back towards cinema as art. Be an artistic filmmaker, support other artistic filmmakers, and promote the visions of women whose works of art can have a positive, profound impact on our future.

Nina professes her dream. A directive memory is fostered.

This is Nina, one of the fourth graders at John F. Kennedy School in Berlin.  We interviewed the class two weeks after they watched the 2011 Berlinale film THE STRONGEST MAN IN
HOLLAND.  Nina's detailed response not only revealed a vivid memory of the film but her own unique way of thinking about it.  I asked the children next what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Nina's response is an apt one. I'm glad she and more got a chance to hear her state it.  Nina later found Gintare Malinauskaita and I debriefing at a sidewalk cafe near the school (she had been on the bus and jumped off when she saw us).  She was excited and smiling ear to ear.  She had to tell us how much she enjoyed our interview and she wanted to tell us how much she loves writing.  The moment you see here in this clip may have been the first time Nina heard herself profess her dream.  I hope that Nina continues to watch challenging films that further foster her dream. 

Finding Felix Kickstarter Campaign

The Finding Felix Kickstarter Campaign is now LIVE:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/202492356/finding-felix

Look for updates on Kickstarter and follow
or start a discussion on facebook.com/FindingFelix

The Kickstarter activity is astonishing.  Feels like a conversation
with 100 million people. The responses are exhilarating.
Watch this space for more clips from FINDING FELIX.
.

Animator Michel Ocelot offers rich insights to the magical stories he tells...

Animator Michel Ocelot's PRINCES AND PRINCESSES and KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS have created brilliant memories for audiences young and adult around the world.  Here he gives insight to the stories he tells through his own vivid recollection of his first film seen in his childhood in Afrika.  He also makes a good argument for the meaning of "international" for a child.

Moritz Klein and Vincent Förster on the most innovative films of the 2011 Berlinale Generation program.

Moritz Klein and Vincent Förster are two of Felix's peers who both served as young journalists and members of the youth juries at the Berlinale Generation section.  In this excerpt from their interview, they discuss the innovative films of the 2011 program.

Gratitude

None of the following photos documenting the person behind the camera and the process that made FINDING FELIX would have been possible without the presence, attention, visual skill and understanding of the value of a moment which Tina Töpfel and Gintare Malinauskaite brought to the project. On the magic day when we found Felix, Elise Fried expertly handled the camera. All three showed me things I couldn't have thought of and proved, once again, that filmmaking is a team sport.  Thanks team.

Felix Klein, the "Felix" we sought is found. Elise Fried is running camera.

Katy Kavanaugh with director Mohammed Ali Talebi, who made the first Iranian film I saw at the Berlinale in 1993, THE BOOTS.

Moritz Klein, former jury member, now Generation staff.

                      Director and cast of US film THE DYNAMITER by Matthew Gordon

Felix Klein, first interview.

                               A PAS DU LOUP team: Olivier, Yves and Winona Ringer

ON THE ICE  director Andrew Okpeaha   Maclean and producer Cara Marcous

Guerrilla Dream Infusion : Berlin

Night fell on the hof (the courtyard in the middle of most apartment buildings in Berlin), a blue beam pierced the silent yard and brought viewers to the windows. Pippi Longstocking's face projected on a wall where only chipped paint had shown before. Guerrilla Dream Infusion struck for the first time, bringing impactful cinematographic memories to dreamers, big and small.
("Pippi Longstocking" in Taka Tuka Land http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123111/)

The Value of the Olympia International Children and Youth Festival in Greece

Concurrent with the last post highlighting Renate Zylla's view of strong European countries, I've learned that important film festivals, namely Amsterdam's Cinekid and The Olympia Festival in Greece are at dire risk of losing their national funding. Like Cinekid, The Olympia Festival is unique in its concept and extends the rich cultural experience of the international film program through other festival facets that provide a place for young people to meet, collaborate and see each other's audiovisual work through new technologies.

Olyfest's Camera Zizanio has collaborated to bring Screen 360’s annual Bay Area Progeny program as the sole American youth voice to Greece since 2003, initially as a measure against communication collapse resulting from the bitter news of the Iraq War.
Camera Zizanio annually hosts dozens of young film/videomakers and their short works for days of art and communication exchange.

With this worldwide economic crisis demanding budget slashing, we ask for the wisdom of public ministries to stay focused on the future, its nation’s developing citizens. Disabling these established links in the media industry that deliver unprecedented impact to its audiences, education systems and across borders, would be short sighted.

Both Cinekid and "The Olyfest" provide important models and invaluable exchange points for the developing field in the United States. Cinekid is needed to extend the unique Dutch perspective and Olyfest is needed to extend the unique Greek perspective.

Olyfest hosted me in 2003 to launch Bay Area Progeny and then again in 2006 as a member of the international jury. From the warm hospitality of the robust Greek families I met there and the Olympia Festival production family, I gathered invaluable insights to family dynamics and raising children. Set in Pyrgos, capitol of Ilia Prefecture to the west of the Peloponnes mountain range and next door to ancient Olympia, Olyfest offers a particularly rich model for bringing international film to where it can make the strongest impact--in places far away from major metropolitan areas. Director Dimitris Spyrou's model inspired Screen 360's work in Vale, Oregon in the high desert of rural Eastern Oregon.

As we’ve learned through our FINDING FELIX research, cinematic memories - especially those affixed with discussion in the film festival model - live long and continue to contribute to the lives built upon them. For those living in rural areas or far away from cities, those memories can potentially direct a life to venture out beyond or can simply enrich satisfied lives outside of the city.

Renate Zylla on Europe's leading countries in the treatment of films and media for young audiences: Denmark, Germany, Holland

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Renate Zylla's name is the most known around the world in the realm of international film festivals for young audiences. After 25 years as a revered festival director, 18 spent steering the Berlin Film Festival's Kinderfilmfest, she continues to influence the field promoting valuable quality films as a European festival agent. In short, Renate Zylla is the person who knows the pulse of this branch of the film industry.

I asked her directly, "Which country is doing it best?" Denmark, Germany, and The Netherlands, she responded, each for support of production, education and promotion. Ms. Zylla points out Cinekid as an innovative and unique force in The Netherlands.

Concurrent with this post, I've learned that Cinekid, under the tireless visionary direction of Sannette Naeyé, is at risk of losing its national funding. With this worldwide economic crisis demanding budget slashing, we ask for the wisdom of public ministries to stay focused on the future, its nation’s developing citizens. Disabling such an established media industry link as Cinekid - an institution that delivers unprecedented impact to its audiences, education systems and across borders--would be short-sighted.

As we’ve learned through our FINDING FELIX research, cinematic memories - especially those affixed with discussion in the film festival model - live long and continue to contribute to the lives built upon them. We can see evidence of the this best in established children's film festivals, especially in the 25 year-old Cinekid.

Finding Felix Trailer with music from Tim Blok/Tuxedo Music

Our trailer, pretty close to perfect thanks to the music of Tim Blok, engaging singer/songwriter met in a moment of Amster-magic at a Suriname take-out joint in Amsterdam. Thanks to Tim and his friends who let me eavesdrop on their rhythmic conversation then start one with them. Thanks to my lovely hosts Sannette Naeye, director of the Cinekid Film Festival and her husband, Arjan.

In veteran festival director Renate Zylla's experienced opinion, The Netherlands, Scandinavian countries and Germany are the most productive European countries in the realm of media content for children. In the German state of Thuringen special funds are earmarked for children's media: education and development of makers. I attended the beginning of the Goldener Spatz festival in Gera and while I was in Amsterdam, the second half of the festival in Erfurt which brings together the makers for TV and Cinema. There in Erfurt, like at the BUFF film festival in Mälmo, Sweden, anotherl Kids Regio pitch session presents possibilty for new works to find funding.