Oddball.
Australian family film Oddball, starring Shane Jacobson, is set to open the 2016 TIFF Kids Festival.
Australian feature film Blinky Bill: The Movie and short films Riceballs, Junction, Cinema Dhors, The Trophy Thief and The Supermarket will also be premiering at the festival, which is now in its 19th year.
Oddball is a comedic feature based on a true story about a chicken farmer, his granddaughter and their mischievous dog saving fairy penguins from extinction in an Australian seaside town.
The festival wraps with its closing night film, the Canadian premiere of Little Door Gods, an animated 3D film from first-time feature director Gary Wang that was inspired by Chinese folklore.
The festival features a total of 139 films, comprising 28 features and 111 shorts hailing from 35 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Philippines, France, India, South Korea, and many more.
All screenings and events take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto from April 8 to 24, 2016.
Festival director Elizabeth Muskala said the festival would be extended to three weekends for 2016 in order to give families more opportunities to see quality children’s films they may never have the opportunity to see again.
“This year, we have so many great films that touch on a variety of relevant and timely issues that are important to children today, including our Opening Night film Oddball which teaches the significance of taking care of our environment and wildlife; The World of Us, which came straight from the Berlin Film Festival, and deals with issues of bullying and self-acceptance; the Canadian premiere of Code M, which comes from the director of past TIFF Kids favourites, and follows a young girl as she perseveres through a difficult journey to honour her grandfather’s wishes; and CodeGirl from acclaimed producer Lesley Chilcott, which follows young girls as they strive to enter the male-dominated app world.”
TIFF has also announced a variety of specialty programming including, a special free screening of Rob Reiner’s post modern fairy tale, The Princess Bride; a retrospective celebration of 40 years of craft, comedy, and characters from Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace & Gromit; a 60th anniversary screening of the classic French short The Red Balloon; a special screening of The Boxtrolls in digital 3D followed by a discussion with Mark Shapiro from LAIKA Studio, expanding on the filmmaking process and the art of stop-motion animation; and a pancake and waffles breakfast served before screenings of a surprise film.
TIFF’s celebration of Roald Dahl’s centenary continues with a 20th-anniversary screening of Matilda, the charming big-screen adaptation of Dahl’s classic story.
Special guests will introduce films and be available for question-and-answer sessions following select screenings throughout the TIFF Kids Festival, with guests to be announced on tiff.net in the coming weeks.