Our Kidz Kino, a TTMF festival favorite, is a program of short, family-friendly films curated by kids for kids. The screening is open to all passholders. Tickets are $10 for kids and $15 for adults.
A LETTER TO CONGRESS
3 mins | Directed by: Christopher Newman
Christopher Newman’s short, lyrical visual poem was inspired by and is an homage to Wallace Stegner’s 1960 “Letter to Congress,” in which the writer advocated for the preservation of the wilderness that then remained. “Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed,” Stegner wrote. In hindsight, the 1960s were hopeful; today, the exhortation is more urgent than ever.
INTERSECTION: MICAYLA GATTO
5 mins | Directed by: Lacy Kemp
Professional mountain biker and artist Micayla Gatto recreates in her paintings the sweeping vistas of ridgelines she rides on her bike. Both cornering berms and putting paintbrush to canvas allow Gatto to achieve that magical flow state where she exists completely and happily in the present moment. Intersection takes us inside the vibrant space where artist and athlete collide, as Gatto pedals through her artwork with a splash of color.
MEET THE REAL WOLF
3 mins | Directed by: Thomas Winston
Throughout history, myths about the “big bad wolf” generated scary stereotypes of the animal that crept out of fairy tales and into human consciousness. By the 1950s, wolves were pushed to the brink of extinction in the lower 48. In this short film, predator becomes protagonist as we learn what happens when the wolf is no longer antagonized, but recognized as the missing link in a healthy ecosystem.
MY MOM VALA
10 mins | Directed by: RC Cone
Rivers run through Vala Árnadóttir’s blood; she was raised by fishing guides. She lives in the city of Reykjavík, Iceland, with her 10-year-old daughter Mathilda, and teaches Mathilda the art of casting, the tricks of fish, the peace of standing on the banks watching the water flow by. But when Vala travels to Greenland for guiding work, immersing herself in a landscape that’s as beautiful and fertile as it is barren and unforgiving, Mathilda doesn’t come along. Not yet. This short film paints the fantastical and mysterious country of Greenland through Mathilda’s fantasies and Vala’s eyes.
FREE LIKE THE BIRDS
10 mins | Directed by: Paola Mendoza
Precocious Sophie Cruz convinced her martial arts teacher to let her attend classes when she was just 3 years old. She is a luchadora, a fighter. So when her parents, who are undocumented immigrants, told her they don’t have papers and could be deported back to Mexico, Sophie vowed to keep her family together. On a trip to Washington, D.C., Sophie, then just 6, cleared a security barrier to deliver her message to Pope Francis. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which would grant protected status to Sophie’s family and thousands of others and let them live free like the birds.
SKY MIGRATIONS
15 mins | Directed by: Charles Post, Forest Woodward, Max Lowe
Twice a year a river of raptors soars overhead between British Columbia and Argentina on their seasonal migrations. Ecologist Charles Post joins them for part of their journey south through the rugged sagebrush-covered canyons of Nevada’s Goshute and New Mexico’s Manzano mountains. Workers with Hawkwatch International have been counting, measuring, banding and marveling at Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawks and golden eagles for the last 30 years. The birds’ fierce eyes and powerful wingspans indicate they, as well as the animals they prey on, are doing well. But for conservation to succeed, there must be a global effort. It takes the entire Western Hemisphere to raise a hawk.
IMAGINATION: TOM WALLISCH
5 mins | Directed by: Dave Mossop
From the boredom of the backseat of his parents’ station wagon, a young skier imagines the passing front-yard snow piles and sloping roofs as suburban ski terrain. His daydream suddenly springs to life as freeskier Tom Wallisch flies over Airstreams and garbage cans, and down the steps and rails of Nelson, British Columbia, sparks flying when his skis meet pavement. Imagination is an homage to the late Canadian freeskier J.P. Auclair’s iconic street segment from the film All.I.Can. (Mountainfilm 2011), which proves with a little snow and creativity anything is possible.
BROTHERS OF CLIMBING
7 mins | Directed by: Duncan Sullivan
Go to a typical climbing gym and you’re not likely to see many people of color. But Brothers of Climbing co-founder Mikhail Martin says if young black people never see someone who looks like them, they will think a rock wall is no place for them. His organization aims to change that. With a mission of boosting minorities’ involvement in outdoor activities, the group’s positive energy is increasing diversity and challenging stereotypes in the climbing world.
THE PIÑATA KING
4 mins | Directed by: Paul Storrie, Chris Lee, Charlie Kwai
In Mexico, no child’s birthday party is complete without a piñata. Piñatas made by the Piñata King, along with his family, friends and most of his fellow townspeople, are unique pieces of crafted artisanship. For some kids, the beauty of the piñata is worth more than the sweet goodies hidden inside. For others, it’s still all about the goodies.
SURF THE LINE
2 mins | Directed by: Jérémy Frey
The Flying Frenchies are back, and this time they are surfing a 2,000-foot highline in the Vercors Mountains of France — hauling ass at 50 miles an hour and laughing hysterically the whole way.
