Put a determined blackbird, a nervous matador, a boy with missing teeth and a little pig who feels a bit different alongside an ant made from tea-leaves, a sparrow from Russia and a young hare in silhouette, and you’ve got the range of characters from our wonderful and funny international short films for very young viewers.

Subtitled films read aloud by an experienced reader

Recommended age: +4

THE FILMS:

Der Kleine Vogel und das Blatt / The Little Bird and the Leaf

A beautiful and simple animated tale. In the middle of winter a little black bird waters the last leaf left on a tree. When it falls off he chases after it through the snowy wood but he doesn’t know that a hungry fox is following him.

4mins/Switzerland/ 2012/ Director: Lena von Dohren 

Dodu – O Rapaz de Cartao / Dodu the Cardboard Boy

A unique animated short which uses a huge variety of interesting materials to tell the story of a little cardboard boy who climbs inside a box and heads off to sea.

5 mins/Portugal/2010/Director: José Miguel Ribeiro 

Hasenpfad / The Path of a Hare

We follow a young hare as his mother shows him the wonders and the dangers of the world outside of the burrow. All characters in the story are animated as silhouettes and look like shadow puppets. 

6mins/Netherlands/2012/Director: Lotte van Elsacker 

Ernesto

Seven year-old Ernesto feels left out when he realises he’s the only kid in school with a full set of milk teeth. When his efforts to fit in fail miserably, Ernesto resorts to drastic measures to get rid of them but his teeth have other plans… 

7 mins/UK/2011/Director: Corrine Ladeinde 

Bara Lite / Just a Little

A pig on his way to the lake makes new friends who all have complaints about how they look. Down at the lake this group of rather special animals meets a big fat frog who can make dreams come through.

9mins/Sweden/ Subtitled/2012/Director: Alicja Bjork Jaworski

Chinti

An outstanding animated short, made using tea leaves, about a very determined ant attempting to build a model of the Taj Mahal entirely out of rubbish.

8 mins/Russia/2012/Director: Natalia Mirzoyan 

Das Bild der Prinzessin / Princess’ Painting 

A funny animated fairy tale about a spoiled little princess and her ambitions as a painter. 

6mins/Germany/ Subtitled/2010/Director: Klaus Morschheuser & Johannes Weiland

These films are showing as part of the IFI Family Festival 2012