New York International Children’s Film Festival: Kid Flicks – Celebrating Black Stories

Black stories take the spotlight to highlight films that share the joy, determination, resilience, and complexity of being Black and young. Explore a range of genres and styles in a program that spans the globe. (76min.)

Comic Escape: A young boy unexpectedly finds a comic book that changes his reality. (US, 2021, 15min., English | Dir. Alphonso McAuley)

Cupids: This whimsical comedy love letter to New York’s essential workers follows a whole class on the last day of school as they scheme to find the perfect partner for their adored bus driver, Ms. Cheryl, and save her from a lonely summer without them. (US, 2021, 10min., English | Dir. Zoey Martinson)

Generation Impact: The Coder: Jay Jay Patton was only 13 when she designed and built an app to help kids connect with their incarcerated parents, inspired by her own experience. Now she is creating a coding academy to help other kids do the same. (US, 2021, 7min., English | Dir. Samantha Knowles)

My Name Is Maluum: Maalum comes from a home surrounded by love and Afro-centered references. When her classmates tease her about her name, Maluum discovers the lovely legacy of her name and ancestry. (Brazil, 2021, 8min., In Portuguese with English subtitles | Dir. Luísa Copetti)

The Night I Left America: While anxiously awaiting the results of his mother’s visa renewal request, a teenage boy living in Texas conjures memories of his life in Uganda. (Uganda/US, 2021, 14min., In English & Luganda with English subtitles | Dir. Laki Karavias)

Room Rodeo: Grounded and with a last-minute school project due, Jamil takes matters into his own hands in order to prove he is the great grandson of a legendary Black cowboy. (US, 2021, 14min., English | Dir. Daniel Kayamba)

Wolf and Cub: A father and son cross a world of imagination in order to return a bag of their mother’s forgotten lunch. (US, 2021, 8min., English | Dir. Marvin Bynoe)