Belmont World Film Family Festival, Virtual Edition

Belmont World Film’s Family Festival is going virtual in 2021 and is expanding from four days to 10! The Family Festival provides children ages 3-12 and their families the opportunity to see some of the world’s most remarkable current films for youths—films that provide a window into the lives of kids in other cultures, races and ethnicities. The festival also presents workshops, including three sessions on model making for animated films conducted by the senior model maker from Aardman (the Wallace & Gromit films) on Saturday, Jan. 23, and a two-day workshop on film criticism led by Joyce Kulhawik with Boston Globe film critics Ty Burr and Peter Keough representing the Boston Society of Film Critics, on Jan. 16 and 17. Several filmmakers from around the world will also participate in virtual live Q&As. Most film programs will be available for screening for all 10 days, with several films having shorter screening windows.

The festival’s 15 film programs, comprised of nearly 50 animated, live action and documentary feature length plus short films in multiple languages with subtitles and in English —many based on children’s books, and several making their U.S. premieres—are from the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. There are films featuring young kids making an environmental difference (including a 5th grade class in Brooklyn that completely rids their cafeteria of single-use plastics); an asylum-seeking youth chess champion in France; a famous Rembrandt painting that comes to life in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum; a youth soccer team in South Africa competing in the finals of the soccer world championship in Gothia, Sweden; and an amazing selection of short film programs, including one honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and another made by 8-10 year olds in Portugal.

Once you start a film, you will have 48 hours to finish it. All film programs but three (Fahim, the Little Chess Prince, Forward, and Hungry Bear Tales) will be available for streaming for the full 10 days, from Friday, Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. to Sunday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.

Workshops and the Q&As with filmmakers are the only other timed events. You must purchase the films to participate in the Q&As. Space is limited at the workshops, so it is recommended that you sign up early. You must purchase your own clay for the Model Making Workshops with Aardman Animation. Pass holders must RSVP to the films and workshops they'd like to attend.