Film Festival for Kids: High on Art, Low on Pandas

The New York International Children’s Film Festival , which opens this weekend, is the biggest children’s film festival in the U.S. This is not the kind of event where they screen Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears Another Who or Madagascar 3: Botswanarama! This is a venue for those budding cineastes between the ages of 3 and 18 for whom this weekend could not be complete without screening a film in the Children and War series — or another of the challenging entertainments chosen by the festival jury, which includes John Turturro, Susan Sarandon and Gus Van Sant. You can’t help feeling that if Rush Limbaugh were to come up with his fantasy politically-correct liberal-media-élite pile-on, it would sound a lot like a planning session for the NYICFF.

Share

I Bought an Expensive House. My Bad, Not Yours

I don’t like populists. First of all, they seem a lot more popular than I am. Second, they derive their popularity from exploiting our base fears — Joe McCarthy’s fear of communist takeover, George Wallace’s fear of black people, Lou Dobbs’ fear of other cultures, Joe the Plumber’s fear of working

Share

Parents of 18 wonder how octuplet mom will cope

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of Springdale, Arkansas, are the parents of 18 children, and their family is the focus of a TLC network reality series. Joy Behar, guest host Thursday night on “Larry King Live,” asked the Duggars how they are able to stay debt free with such a large family and what they thought of Nadya Suleman, the single mother who recently gave birth to octuplets after having fertility treatments

Share

Pinki brings a smile to the Oscars

While all eyes seem to be on "Slumdog Millionaire" for the Oscars, the eyes of a very courageous little girl will be focused on another India based film at the ceremony. It’s called “Smile Pinki” and it’s up for an Oscar too — nominated for best short documentary. The little girl watching it from inside the Oscar ceremony has traveled all the way from her small Indian village with her dad — and it has been an incredible journey for little Pinki Sonkar.

Share