Engage your sprockets

“The sprocket,” explains Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children director
Jane Schoettle, “is the piece of projection machinery that engages the holes in
a film.” The metaphor here is that in the same way, the 10-day festival will be
a point of interaction between the world of children’s films and the people who
attend the festival.

So, don’t take your family to Sprockets expecting to sit on
your bum for a week of films (though you could). Rather, plan on workshops like
“From Dream to Screen,” at which screenwriter Murray McRae will guide 10- to
13-year-olds through the process of writing screenplays (April 30). Or check
out “Learn to Make a Film — in a Day,” offered twice each weekend, once for
9- to 12-year-olds, once for older kids.

The big draw, of course, is the opportunity to see 87 films
from 26 countries, all geared toward children and families. Lila (age 8) and I
just watched the opening night film, Sweden’s Max and Josef — Double Trouble. Poor Max has just gone from baby
to middle child, and his parents won’t even get him a dog. No, he gets Josef the
wiseacre turtle instead, who encourages Max to take action against “the
midget.” “The turtle can’t really talk,” Lila explains, “it’s Max’s jealousy of
his little sister. When Iris and Oscar were born, I felt a little like they got
all the attention, and I was invisible, too.” Invisibility seems sort of cool
to Max until he realizes, no, he can’t walk through walls.

Laura’s Star, from
Germany but dubbed into English, shows how powerfully Hiyao Miyazaki is
influencing the world’s animators. From the stunning realism of a European
opera house, to the bold surreal magic of fluffy-looking fantasy playmates,
it’s full of Miyazakian flourishes. The dubbing isn’t perfect, but Lila loved
the characters’ British accents. Like Max
and Josef, this is also about a child dealing with change, and it’s very
moving.

Bibi Blocksberg and
the Secret of the Blue Owls, something of a German Harry Potter story (with
a girl hero), isn’t dubbed. But don’t let subtitles scare you; Sprockets has
expert readers for the pre-readers in the audience. Until we saw Max, this was Lila’s favorite. It didn’t
hit me as hard, but maybe that just means it’s aimed more squarely at kids.
Lila says, “Some moments made you feel scared, some made you laugh… they really
gave you feelings.” And it was flat-out silly at times, which can’t be that
bad.

Spirit Bear: the Simon
Jackson Story was a tad pedantic, but the based-on-a-true-story teen
eco-warrior drama worked for Lila. Simon Jackson is a real Canadian kid who
successfully fought lumber companies and the Canadian government to preserve
the habitat of the rare, white, Kermode bear. It’s all very uplifting. Plus
it’s got a goofy scientist, Graham Greene, and Ed Begley Jr.

In addition to 25 feature-length films, there are also
threescore shorts, where you’ll see some of the most unbridled creativity. Keep
an eye out for Co Heodeman’s Marianne’s
Theatre, a stunningly imaginative play within a puppet show within a film.
The cutout acrobats entertain, an emcee intrudes, and wonderful music moves it
along for 16 of the shortest minutes of your life.

This year’s festival, the eighth, runs from April 29 to May
8. Ten-ticket packs cost $77 Canadian (that’s about a buck given the favorable
exchange rate). For information about Sprockets, check out the website
(www.bell.ca/sprockets), or call 416-968-FILM. They’ll even help you find
accommodations in Toronto.

— Adam Wilcox

This week for
families

Brighton Memorial
Library storytimes: Mondays 10 a.m. (ages 3-4), 10:30 a.m. (ages 1-2.5);
Thursdays 7 p.m. | Thurs, Apr 21, Little Science Wizards: Slimy Chemistry,
10:30 a.m. | 2300 Elmwood Avenue. 784-5300, www.brightonlibrary.org

Chickerella Thurs, Apr 21. storytime, Barnes & Noble, 3349
Monroe Ave, 10 a.m. Free. 586-6020

Experience Your
Future Day Wed, Apr 27. for high-school seniors, Bryant and Stratton
College, 1225 Jefferson Rd, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. 292-5627

Finding Out About
Food Thurs, Apr 21. hearthside cooking program for kids ages 6-12, Rose
Hill Mansion, Rte 96A, Geneva, 1-3 p.m. $3. 315-789-5151

Girl Scout Summer
Camp Meeting Tues, Apr 26. girls ages 6-18 and parents, Chili Senior
Center, 3235 Chili Ave, 6 p.m. 292-5160

Henrietta Public
Library storytimes: Tuesdays 11-11:30 a.m., Wednesdays 10:15-10:45 a.m. |
Wed, Apr 20, family bingo, 7-8 p.m. | Thurs, Apr 21, origami basics, 2-4 p.m. |
Fri, Apr 22, Red Cross Babysitter’s Training, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. $30. | Sat,
Apr 23, comic book program, 10-11 a.m. | 455 Calkins Rd. 359-7092, www.hpl.org

Iroquois National
Wildlife Refuge Open House Sat, Apr 23. kids’ activities, exhibits, nature
trails, birding, 1101 Casey Rd, Basom, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 948-5445,
iroquoisnwr.fws.gov

The Joke Shop Thurs,
Apr 21. Cool Kids, The Forum, Genesee Community College, Batavia, 7-8 p.m.
Free. 637-3984

Music, Danger, Suspense, and Silliness Thurs, Apr 21. Theatre
Young Kids Enjoy, UpStage3, Auditorium Center, 875 E Main St, 1 p.m. 723-6080

Penfield Public
Library Wed, Apr 20. teen poetry cafรฉ, open mic, 1985 Baird Rd, Penfield,
7-9 p.m. 340-8720, www.penfieldlibrary.org

Peter Stewart Sat,
Apr 23. family concert, Gothic Theater, Auditorium Center, 875 E Main St, 1
p.m. 244-3380, www.raeyc.org

Preschool Workshop Thurs,
Apr 21. Ages 2.5-5, story, art project, Gallery tour, Memorial Art Gallery, 500
University Ave, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. $17. 473-7720 ext 3056

YOHP Summer Musical
Auditions Wed, Apr 27. Penfield Recreation, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat audition for ages
12-18. 340-8664

The Yuqwa Sat,
Apr 23. Zambian gospel quartet, Rochester Leadership Academy, 1020 Maple St, 7
p.m. Free for middle-school, high-school, and college students. 235-8735

This article appears in Apr 20-26, 2005.