BAICFF is a Playdate for the Imagination, an annual film festival conscientiously programmed especially for families. The festival provides children a visual understanding of cultures, traditions, lives and experiences. It allows them to understand the world, preparing them to become our thoughtful and conscious leaders of tomorrow.
The Renaissance School and Screen 360: Films for Children of the World produced the first annual Bay Area International Children’s Film Festival in 2009 - a landmark community-building, multi-cultural, family event in the San Francisco East Bay. The festival began as a creative community event in support of The Renaissance School’s outstanding educational programs. These programs include a biannual international travel program in pursuit of global understanding and cultural exchange; rigorous faculty training in the areas of Montessori education and early childhood development, and a Financial Aid program helping families continue their education at the school.
BAICFF reflects the values of The Renaissance School: a world-class education, a multicultural and multilingual learning environment and a particular dedication to the arts. The international faculty and student body represent more than 25 different countries and nearly every ethnic group and major world religion.
BAICFF promotes unity through art and film. Our carefully selected programming includes films for all age ranges from all over the world. In 2009, BAICFF presented 23 live-action and animated films from Israel, Germany, Denmark, France, and Canada. Norway, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, Cuba, the US and Scotland. This year BAICFF is presenting more than 45 films from Asia, North & South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.
BAICFF also offers hands-on educational opportunities in documentary filmmaking and animation. In 2009, 20 elementary school students participated in a documentary filmmaking workshop in which they produced a short documentary film about the Italian Gondolier on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. The students chose the subject for their documentary, planned the shoot, directed their film, made edit decisions, and participated in the editing process. The student’s 10 minute finished film, The Gondolier, premiered at BAICFF 2009.
This year, Pixar storyboard artists, Matthew Luhn and Valerie LaPointe, are offering an amazing animation workshop to 27 children at the festival: a truly unique, hands-on introduction to stop motion animation. Matt will help children decorate and add personality to their own professional clay animation puppets from the Gumby Studios. Then, Valerie will guide children in filming their characters on an animation stage. The claymation films created during the workshop will be screened the same day. Children will take home their claymation characters and a DVD copy of their animated film.
We are honored to have a special guest filmmaker, Jules Oosterwegel from Amsterdam, attend BAICFF 2010. Jules travels around the world capturing children playing street games on film -- so far, he has documented 300 games in 21 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. He does this as a personal mission, financed by his elementary teaching career. His goal is to preserve the cultural heritage of play for future generations and to improve the physical and social health of today's children. Jules will show some of his shorts of children playing street games and then will play some games with children at the festival.
The Film Festival Committee includes a passionate group of parents committed to creating a compelling family event.
Jim Capobianco: Film Scout & Selection
Fabrice Caporal: Webmaster & Designer
Lisa Fitzgerald: Co-Producer, Film Scout & Selection, Legal
Austin Forbord: Technical Direction
Calvin Gibbs: Corporate Sponsorship
Donna Gibbs: Event Manager
Tuyen Ho: Development & Hospitality
Lawrence McKendell: Graphic Design
Claudia Medina-Caporal: Marketing
Susan Thomas: Communications & Marketing
Shelley Trott: Co-Producer
BAICFFF is volunteer-run.