Films
Below is our list of films available for the 2008 festival. Click here to review the schedule for the festival.

We are thrilled to present an extraordinary selection of films - many of which we are premiering at RFFF!!! These films are guaranteed to engage, entertain and educate students.

Mr. Men & Little Miss Show
(based on Roger Hargeaves' best-selling Mr. Men and Little Miss books)
(Animated- USA 2007/2008)
The Mr. Men Show is an animated sketch comedy for children, based on the books by Roger Hargreaves. The show featuring the Mr. Men and Little Misses characters consists of episodes of a specific theme, as well as music that revolves around one or more of the characters.

Themes: verbal wit, physical comedy, silly sketches, memorable music videos, colorful locations and at least one catastrophe befalling Mr. Bump - a great way to recognize one's emotions and reactions to circumstances.

View Schedule | Film Website

Going Home
(USA 2006) - 5 minutes
An award-winning beautiful and charming story about love and friendship. Three stuffed animals are without a home. A young frog named Charlie and his friends take us on an unforgettable journey in finding the mothe

.

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The Legend of Sasquatch
Animated- USA 2006) - 74 minutes "Legends never leave us - as long as you believe" featuring the voices of William Hurt and John Rhys-Davies
The Davis Family - John (William Hurt), Khristy (Jewel Restaneo) and Maggie (Blaire Restaneo) - move in to a secluded log cabin in the mountains above Seattle. They soon discover a family of Bigfoot hiding nearby. When the Bigfoot and Ranger Steve (John Rhys-Davies) ask the Davis family for help the adventure of a lifetime begins

Themes: Language arts/Social - legends, fairy tales, being sensitive to the feelings of others, friendship

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Meet Chris Violette, start of the film who will be attending the screening March 02!

Labou
(Animated, USA, 2006) - 95 minutes
Three kids get lost in the Louisiana bayou in search of a ghost pirate and his lost treasure, but what they discover is true friendship and the adventure of a lifetime

Winner of the 'Best of the Fest' award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 2007

View Schedule | Film Website

Me, Masi & Mr. Clean
(Short- Canada 2006) - 8 minutes
Eleven year old Seema has issues with her skin colour. Surrounded by the white kids of her Canadian community, and inundated by her masi's (aunts) opinion that fair skin is better, Seema resorts to drastic measures in order to bleach her skin.

Seema mistakenly believes that using Mr. Clean on her skin will lead to a fairer, more beautiful colour. When Seema ends up in the hospital, she comes to realize that skin isn’t what defines the person – it’s what is beneath the skin that counts.

Me, Masi & Mr. Clean is a short, bittersweet comedy about accepting the things you cannot change, and focusing on the things that can make a difference.

Themes: Pressure to fit in, sense of identity, discrimination

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Little Heroes 
(Israel 2006) - Hebrew and Russian with English Subtitles 76 minutes 

Sponsored by:

Life is hard when you're a misfit, but it's even harder for a kid who feels alone. In Little Heroes, four square pegs embark on a quest, and their naive courage affects everyone in their lives. Alicia is a recent immigrant from Russia who is responsible beyond her years, and hears and knows things others don't. Sure that a couple is injured and in danger somewhere in the desert, she enlists aid from Erez, a boy trying to recover from his father's recent death while enduring well-meaning indulgence from adults and resentful bullying from classmates. Though doubtful about Alicia's mission, Erez sets off with her and her childlike, strapping older brother, Lev. Their search proves more difficult than anticipated, but the trio find support from Lior, an outsider in his kibbutz community. Enemies become allies, bullies find compassion, and adults reach understanding in this moving story.

Themes: Courage, teamwork - learning to work together and believing in each other proves one is capable of greatness, exceptionality

View Schedule |

Meet Samuel Johnson and Jason Hees from the film who will be attending the screening Feb 24!

Darius Goes West 
(Documentary, USA 2007) - 92 minutes 
Darius Weems, a 15-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, had never left his hometown of Athens, Georgia. In the summer of 2005, he and a group of young college students traveled across the country in a wheelchair-accessible RV to test accessibility in America. Their ultimate goal was to reach Los Angeles and convince MTV's hit show, "Pimp My Ride," to customize Darius's wheelchair. Along the way, they found joy, brotherhood, and the knowledge that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.

Themes: Courage, perseverance, willingness to help others, determination, friendship, selflessness, empathy, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), brotherhood 

View Schedule | Film Website

Shooting for Change
(Documentary- Canada 2006) - 51 minutes
Plagued by a reputation for gun violence and drugs, Regent Park, a community in downtown Toronto, decides to fight back using an unusual weapon. The youth of Toronto’s infamous neighbourhood of Regent Park are used to being labelled and having others making decisions for them. But through a unique film-making project, they’ve been able to take control of their lives to redefine their place in the world.

Themes: Bullying, peer pressure, sense of identity, positive peer mentoring

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Garbage! - The Revolution Starts at Home
(Documentary- Canada 2007) - 75 minutes
Have you ever wondered how much garbage you and your family produce? For most of us, it's out of sight, out of mind once we cart it to the curb.

One filmmaker convinced a family to keep all their garbage (and recycling) in their garage for three months so they could see how much they really throw away each week. Garbage! The Revolution Starts At Home is a documentary that not only follows the family's consumption, but also raises awareness about the environmental impacts of our electricity use, the cleaning products we use, and how we travel. By the end of this trashy odyssey, you are truly inspired to revolutionize your lifestyle for the sake of future generations.

Themes: Consumption, Recycling, Garbage, Environment, Activism, Pollution, Sustainability, Composting, Energy, Toxic Waste, Water, Human Rights, Coal Power, Health Issues

View Schedule | Film Website

Thin Ice: Saattuq
(Documentary- Canada 2007) - 47 minutes
Polar bears, walrus, muskox and caribou are all part of a delicate ecosystem now threatened by climate change. Saattuq means thin ice in Inuktitut, and the Inuit are experiencing this first hand, forever changing their traditional way of life of hunting on the ice for food and clothing.
The thinning of the ice is opening up new areas for resource exploitation and now the rest of the world wants a piece of Canada's Arctic; the planet's final frontier.
Thin Ice takes us from the headlines and political speeches to the frontlines of Canada's Arctic - where global warming is not just a distant threat, its impact is now.

Themes: Science and Social - global warming in the Arctic, the lives of the Inuit, the polar bear, the caribou and Canada's sovereignty of the expanding Arctic waters.

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A Recycled Life
(Documentary- USA 2006) - 38 minutes
From the toxic depths of the largest landfill in Central America, a beautiful story of the human spirit arises. For decades, the Guatemala City garbage dump and its inhabitants ("guajeros") who recycle the cities trash have been shunned by society, and ignored by the government until a disastrous and fateful event in 2005 forever changed the face of the landfill and the many people who call it home. Through this compelling story, the filmmakers have captured the beauty, humour and remarkable contrast that resonates throughout this vast wasteland of garbage, as generations of family struggle through the ongoing cycle of life.

Nominated for an Academy Award, Best Documentary, Short, 2007

Themes: Science and Social -  Guatemala/South America, toxic landfills, recycling, poverty, pollution, human kindness, power of the human spirit

View Schedule | Film Website

   
Suitable for viewing by all ages

The Owl and the Sparrow
(Feature Vietnam 2007) - Vietnamese with English Subtitles - 97 minutes 
A beautiful flight attendant looking for love. A lonely zookeeper hiding within his animal kingdom from a changing society. A little orphan girl selling roses on the streets who relies on the kindness of strangers to survive. It's modern day Saigon, where eight million people are just trying to keep up with the pace. In four days the young runaway will play matchmaker to these lonely hearts in hopes of forming a surrogate family. The only thing that may stop her are city authorities who want her in an orphanage and an overbearing uncle tracking her down in the big city.

Themes: Saigon, Vietnam, friendship, human kindness, self reliance, fate, love

View Schedule | Film Website