Two Film Festivals Especially for Young Movie Makers and Fans

Film festivals are not for grown-ups only. Beginning this week, families and children can attend two film festival events--one large, one small--created for all ages. The jampacked, seven-day, second annual Burbank International Children’s Film Festival: 2001--A Kid’s Odyssey will be held Friday through Nov. 3 at Media City Center sites, and the daylong, fifth annual Backyard National Children’s Film Festival is Nov. 3 at downtown’s Los Angeles Center Studios.

The Burbank International Children’s Film Festival, supported by commercial and entertainment industry sponsors, includes scores of family-friendly screenings, from “Spy Kids,” “Shrek” and other features to documentaries, animation, shorts, Nickelodeon shows, films by student competition winners, and international films from Canada, Europe and Asia.

Families can also attend Reel Kids’ Workshops in set design, animation, stage combat, screenwriting, storytelling, makeup and costume, puppeteering, storyboarding and musical scoring. Hollywood stars of the furry and scaly sort appear with their trainers in Kids, Critters & Flix, a partnership program with the American Humane Assn.

Meanwhile, main stage performances and activities, from cartoon voice-over artists to makeup demos and storytelling, will be held on the first level of the Media City Center mall. And on Saturday and Sunday, noon until late evening, the festival will be complemented by a carnival, with rides and games held in Burbank Village, adjacent to the center.

Also on tap are adult-oriented seminars and other events for the public and industry professionals. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation is sponsoring “A Child’s Eye View of Films” panel discussion with present and former child actors, and Writers Guild Foundation-sponsored talks by screenwriters will precede a screenwriters’ showcase at the Colony Studio Theatre space in the center.

Saturday and Sunday will also feature animation society ASIFA-Hollywood’s Anifest 2001, with animation demonstrations, workshops and voice presentations for professionals and the public.

Most events are free, although all workshops require advance reservations and sometimes a fee. The festival ends with its priciest event ($125 a ticket)--a black-tie awards dinner at the Burbank Airport Hilton Hotel and Conference Center. It will include the bestowal of the festival’s first Steve Allen Character First! Award. This lifetime achievement award will be presented by Jayne Meadows and Bill Allen, the late Steve Allen’s wife and son. The honoree? Fred Rogers, for his 30 years of work on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

The Burbank International Children’s Film Festival, Media City Center, 201 E. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank (screenings in the AMC 8 Theatres and in the BICFF theater). Partial schedule: Reel Kids Workshops: Saturday (11 a.m.-5 p.m.), Sunday (11 a.m.-6 p.m.), and Monday-Tuesday, next Thursday.-Nov. 2 (4-6:30 p.m.). BICFF Street Carnival, Burbank Village: Saturday (noon-11 p.m.), Sunday (noon-5 p.m.) Anifest 2001: Saturday (noon-5 p.m.), Sunday (noon-6 p.m.). Main stage activities (first level in front of Macy’s): Saturday (noon-6 p.m.), Sunday (noon-5 p.m.). Cinema Vehicles Tour : Monday (3:30-6 p.m.) Student Film Screenings: Tuesday (2 p.m.). Halloween screenings: Wednesday (5-8 p.m.) “Spooky Storytelling,” main stage: Wednesday (7:30-8:30 p.m.) “By Kids, For Kids” screenings: Next Thursday-Nov. 2 (4-6 p.m.) Final Awards Gala, $125. Most events are free. Workshops require reservations and sometimes a fee. (818) 841-3901. https://www.burbankfilm.org

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The Backyard National Children’s Film Festival is the culmination of a nationwide competition for filmmakers age 18 and under. It will screen the films of nine student winners, from elementary, middle schools and high schools around the country, followed by an awards ceremony and reception for the young honorees.

The films range from quirky animation using crayon, cutouts or clay to live-action comedies, dramas and documentaries. Subject matter is as varied as style: The funny, thoughtful and touching stories include “The Velveteen Hagfish,” a spoof of “The Velveteen Rabbit”; an alarming new mail-order trend called “Man in a Box”; a young girl’s real-life swim with sharks and a sensitive gay teenager’s leap of faith in coming out to his mother.

The event also includes post-screening discussions, filmmaking-related exhibitions and screenings of student winners in the Lego Studios Movie-Making Contest.

The Backyard National Children’s Film Festival, Los Angeles Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th St., downtown L.A., Nov. 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (screenings, discussions, exhibits); awards ceremony and reception, 6-8 p.m. Ages 18 and younger, free; adults, $5. (877) KID-FILM, (213) 534-3000; https://www.childrensfilmfest.org.