Dallas, TX – January 4, 2024 – The USA Film Festival announces the schedule of events for the 40th Annual KidFilm® Family Festival, taking place on Saturday, January 20th, and Sunday, January 21st, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lake Highlands, 6770 Abrams Road, Dallas. All programs will be presented FREE to the community.
KidFilm is the oldest and largest-attended children’s film festival in the United States, featuring an entertaining, educational, and diverse line-up of new and classic films for both children and adults. KidFilm is an annual outreach program of the USA Film Festival/Dallas, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the recognition and promotion of excellence in the film and video arts.
Celebrating the program’s 40th anniversary, this year KidFilm pays tribute to favorite children’s book artists; celebrates diversity, equality, empowerment, family, friendship, and community; and features fantastical adventures celebrating courage, perseverance, and self-reliance, along with other important educational lessons in a program that includes animated films for audiences of any age.
Honorary Co-Chairs for KidFilm are USA Film Festival Board of Directors members Yvette Ostolaza, Laura Fox, David Dummer, Gail Terrell, and Megan Mitchell. “We are so pleased to be able to offer this year’s program as an all-free-admission event thanks to support from The Eugene McDermott Foundation, City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and from the Festival’s Sponsors,” said Fox who continued, “We are honored to be able to celebrate 40 years of KidFilm with this line-up of wonderful artists and entertaining, educational and inspiring films.”
Highlights of this year’s program include:
MEET THE ARTISTS! Screenings with guests in attendance — kids can receive a FREE book and have the guests sign them!
A Salute to Sophie Blackall, the bestselling author, and two-time Caldecott medal-winning artist behind Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, Hello, Lighthouse, Farmhouse, If I Was a Horse and the popular Ivy + Bean book series. The program will include a film screening of the short film If You Come to Earth, adapted from Sophie’s popular book, and a reading of her hilarious new book “If I Was a Horse.” Free copies of her book will be distributed to families at the show, and Sophie will sign books for the kids.
A Salute to children’s book author/illustrator Sara Varon with a screening of NEON’s new animated feature film Robot Dreams (Spain/France) by Pablo Berger, adapted from Sara’s graphic novel of the same name. The heartwarming, dialog-free film follows the beautiful friendship between Dog and his robot companion set in 1980s New York City. Free copies of Sara’s book, “New Shoes,” will also be distributed to families, and she will sign copies following the program.
ADDITIONAL NEW ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS to be presented include:
- Raman Hui’s The Tiger’s Apprentice (USA), an action-adventure fantasy featuring a top-drawer voice cast that includes Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, Lucy Liu with Sandra Oh and Michelle Yeoh. The animated adventure voice cast also includes Bowen Yang, Leah Lewis, Kheng Hua Tan, Sherry Cola, Deborah S. Craig, Jo Koy, Greta Lee, Diana Lee Inosanto, Patrick Gallagher, and Poppy Liu. Based on the popular children’s book series of the same name by Laurence Yep. Families attending this screening will receive a Paramount+ Gift Card (while supplies last) to celebrate the film and Lunar New Year! (Courtesy of Paramout+) The film will be released on February 2nd exclusively on Paramount+.
- Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry’s Kensuke’s Kingdom (UK), a stunning castaway film based on the best-selling book by Michael Morpurgo, featuring characters voiced by Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Raffey Cassidy, and Aaron MacGregor.
- Tim Harper’s Ozi: Voice of the Forest (UK), a captivating tale of courage, hope, and the indomitable human spirit that is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mike Medavoy, with a star-studded voice cast that includes Amandla Stenberg, Laura Dern, Djimon Hounsou, Donald Sutherland, RuPaul, Hugh Bonneville and Dean-Charles Chapman.
- Ricard Cussó & Tania Vincent’s Scarygirl (Australia), a fantastical film based on the graphic novel and popular character created by Nathan Jurevicius, featuring the voices of Anna Torv, Sam Neill, Liv Hewson, Remy Hii, Jillian Nguyen, Tim Minchin, and Deborah Mailman.
- The delightfully entertaining Shimmy: The First Monkey King (USA/China) by Ralph Zondag (Dinosaur, writer of Pocahontas) & Dick Zondag (We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story), based on the origin story of the Monkey King from the ancient classic “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en.
- Gonzalo Gutierrez’s Giants of La Mancha (Argentina/Germany), an extraordinary tale about friendship, teamwork, and the importance of one’s imagination.
- Gerhard Painter & Paul Meyer’s vibrant action-packed comedy Headspace (South Africa) and Peter Budinský’s enchanting film Journey to Yourland (Slovakia).
EIGHTEEN SHORT FILM PRESENTATIONS feature animated short films from around the world, including works from Bahrain, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Qatar, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Schedule, Ticket & Location Information:
The full schedule of KidFilm programs may be viewed online via the USA Film Festival’s website at www.usafilmfestival.com. Printed KidFilm flyers may also be picked up at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lake Highlands beginning January 3rd.
Tickets for all shows are FREE for children & adults!
Programs are free, but you must have a ticket for admission; Tickets and seating are limited. Free books are for families with kids attending in person (limited quantities).
Tickets for all shows are available at the theater on the day of the show only, beginning one hour before each showtime. (Note: Lines can form earlier.)
For additional information, please call the USA Film Festival at 214-821-FILM (3456) or visit www.usafilmfestival.com
During KidFilm, please inquire in person at the KidFilm Information Desk at the theater.
All programs will take place at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lake Highlands, 6770 Abrams Road, Dallas.
KidFilm is a program of the USA Film Festival/Dallas.
Sponsor Support
Major funding for the 40th Anniversary KidFilm program is provided by a special grant from The Eugene McDermott Foundation.
Support for both the public and Dallas Independent School District student programs is made possible by the Festival’s Season Sponsors — Carol and Alan J. Bernon Family Charitable Foundation, Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, Sidley Austin LLP, Headington Companies, Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate, Gaedeke Group, Mary Fox & Laura Fox, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas, Moody Fund for the Arts, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Fons PR and DFWChild.
The USA Film Festival is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
