“The idea of putting together this family film programme came from some questions I have been thinking about as the parent of a toddler. What kind of moving image do I want to share with my child? How do I introduce the space of cinema and its collective spectatorship?  

 A response to these questions came to me in the form of attributes: gentle, slow, playful, open, experimental, home-made, beautiful and communal. It felt important that young children were offered plenty of space to see, hear and make sense of what’s on the screen. With this in mind, we have included a mixture of shorts – from experimental works on 16mm to hand-drawn animation, and from visual music to silent diary film. The films in our programme seek to avoid being prescriptive and we hope viewers may find their own ways of engaging with these celebrations of colour, movement, observation, and imagination. These films are not exclusively meant for young minds, but they express beauty and wonder which children and grown-ups alike can share in!”
(Hyun Jin Cho) 

Co-programmed by Hyun Jin Cho & Oliver Wright.
In collaboration with the Barbican Family Film Club. 

Please note: this screening is designed for families to attend together, no unaccompanied adults will be allowed entry to cinema and children must attend with an accompanying adult. 

Melting

Thom Andersen / 1965 / USA / 6’ / Digital / sound

A deliciously simple yet precisely structured piece about an ice-cream sundae with a cherry on top.

Dots

Norman McLaren / 1940 / Canada / 1’ / Digital / sound

Drawn directly on film stock with an ordinary pen and ink, this brief animation immediately transports you to the land of visual music.

GA

Stephanie Maxwell / 1982 / USA / 5’ / 16mm / sound

Lively, rhythmic Ghanaian music drives the colourful hand-engraved animal motifs, weaving in and out of the frame.

Amazing Fantasy

Ana Vaz / 2018 / France, Japan / 13’ / Digital / sound

A young child practices their mastery of magnetic levitation. Totally magical!

Am Meer (At the Sea)

Ute Aurand / 1994 / Germany / 3’ / 16mm / sound

Edited directly in camera, Aurand’s lyrical film brings into view the unspoiled nature of Hiddensee, an island in the Baltic Sea.

Bedtime Stories (Bridges)

Harun Farocki / 1976-1977 / Germany / 3’ / Digital / German spoken, English subtitles

In collaboration with his twin daughters, Farocki humorously reimagines the bedtime story with poetic wordplay.

Rain Dance

Helen Hill / 1990 / USA / 4’ / 16mm / English spoken

Accompanying a beautiful song about rain, Hill’s simple handcrafted music film conveys a cosy sense of melancholia.

My Newborn Baby

Lin Chuang / 1967 / Taiwan / 8’ / Digital / silent

Happy moments of a baby’s life are captured on 16 mm film with love and tenderness – something all parents can relate to!

Calypso

Margaret Tait / 1955 / UK / 4’ / Digital / sound

Our final film is a delightful, new kind of film dance comprised of colour, movement and calypso music. Everyone is invited to move their bodies and join in the dancing!

Free Family Film Club workshop from 10am.