The Akron Art Museum and Akron Film Fest invite parents to bring their young film connoisseurs to the museum on Saturday, January 16, from 12 – 5 pm to enjoy an afternoon of engaging, high-quality family films in the Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium.
If your children are more enthralled with Gabba Gabba Hey than Barney, then Spark: Family Film Fest is for you! By the end of the day your kids will be hopelessly anticipating the next Miyazaki film and noting The Red Balloon among their creative influences.
Film Schedule
The Secret of Kells
12:15 – 1:45 pm
Animation, Tomm Moore, Ireland/France/Belgium, 2009
Don’t miss this highly anticipated, new animated masterpiece from the producers of Kirikou and the Sorceress and Triplets of Belleville! Magic, fantasy and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes in this sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Features the voices of Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, In Bruges), Mick Lally, Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney.
Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?
Akron Film Fest curated Shorts Program
2 – 3 pm
A variety of shorts including Spark, a cameraless film created by visitors to the museum’s January 3rd Sunday Sampler event with the help of local filmmaker and AFF staffer Kendra Minadeo.
Girls Rock
3:15 – 4:45 pm
Directed by Arne Johnson and Shane King, USA 2008
At Rock 'n' Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that it's OK to sweat like a pig, scream like a banshee, wail on their instruments with complete and utter abandon, and that "it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are." The girls have a week to select a band, an instrument they may have never played before and write a song. In between, they are taught by indie rockers such as Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of the week, all the bands perform a concert for over 700 people.
The film follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed with death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction, homelessness and gang activity; and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi. What happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed and pressured to conform is truly moving and revolutionary.
This Family Drop-In Day is FREE. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the auditorium. For more information call 330.376.9186 x230.
Family Drop-Ins are made possible by a gift from Dominion Foundation, the Laura R. & Lucian Q. Moffitt Foundation, the Glenn R. and Alice V. Boggess Memorial Foundation and the Joseph G. and Sally A. Miller Family Foundation.
Museum Information
Address: One South High, Akron, OH 44308
Tel: 330.376.9185
Fax: 330.376.1180
Website: www.AkronArtMuseum.org
Gallery and Store Hours: Wednesday – Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm, Thursday: 11 am – 9 pm, Closed Monday and Tuesday, as well as major holidays
Café Hours: Wednesday-Sunday: 11 am – 3 pm, Thursday: 11 am – 7:30 pm
Library Hours: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 11 am – 4 pm
Admission: Adult general admission is $7, Student and Senior (65+) general admission is $5, Children (12 and under) are FREE, members are FREE. On the first Sunday of every month, individual admissions to the collection are FREE. Special exhibitions may require paid admission. No tours available on these days.
