This weekend we’re excited to visit the Wexner Center during the Zoom Family Film Festival.  The sixth annual festival features films from the U.S., Belgium, India, France, and Germany. We’re kicking off the weekend with What’s on Your Plate? and we’re also excited to see Tahaan, but there are so many other great films to see, too. Visit their site for a complete list of films, including trailers.

Here is some info about What’s on Your Plate? from the Wexner Center’s site:

“What’s a Funyon!!?,” a young girl asks. Come along as two 11-year-old girls explore food from a kid’s-eye point of view. Inspired by an Ohio summer vacation from their home in Manhattan, the girls follow a trail of information seeking facts and exploding myths about food by interviewing a variety of people from doctors to farmers to chefs. Farming, school lunches, distribution, ingredients, diet, health, and global politics are among the topics they address with fresh questions and sassy humor. The girls’ unfiltered honesty and curiosity bring a welcome sense of authentic inquiry to this engaging documentary about a topic of clear relevance to all of us.

And Tahaan:

Tahaan is an 8-year-old boy who lives in the conflict-torn Kashmir valley of Pakistan. When his family’s donkey is sold by his mother to repay debts, Tahaan sets off on a quest to recover his beloved animal friend. He must decide whether to trust strangers or keep secrets from his mother, and after he is recruited by militants to throw a grenade into an army compound, he faces a crucial choice about how far he’s willing to go to achieve his goal. More than a war story, this is a film about yearning, finding your purpose in life, understanding right and wrong and, ultimately, about choosing peace. Fable-like and beautifully shot, Tahaan captures the scintillating colors, textures, sounds, and smells of a beautiful and ancient land now characterized by border checkpoints, sniper fire, corrupt money lenders, and “disappeared” fathers.

While we’re there, we’re going to check out The Box, where we can see animations, dramatic narratives, and experimental projects by young (age 8-18) Ohio filmmakers and video artists which were chosen to be included in the youth division of the 2009 Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase.

The Zoom Family Film Festival also includes some free family activities:

• Art Projects and Tours
• Video Game Land
• Saturday Morning Cereal and Pajama Party
• Ice Cream Social

P.S. A family membership to the Wexner Center makes a great Christmas gift.

If you’re local, head to The Wexner Center on Sunday, July 19th at 1:00 for a FREE showing of The Secret of Nimh. From their website:

Based on the beloved children’s story and beautifully animated, The Secret of NIMH follows the mouse Mrs. Grisby as she tries to find a new home for her family before theirs is destroyed by spring plowing—a task made more difficult by her sick son. (82 mins., 35mm)

This screening is part of Celebrating the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection, a series of presentations that relate to Ohio State’s Cartoon Library & Museum’s acquisition of some 200,000 original cartoon artworks that were previously held by the International Museum of Cartoon Art founded by Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker. Two exhibitions drawn from the new holdings are on view this summer. From Yellow Kid to Conan (through August 7, Hopkins Hall Gallery & Corridor) features American works, including items related to tonight’s screening. Hogarth and Beyond (through August 31, Cartoon Library & Museum’s Reading Room Gallery) shows works from Europe and elsewhere.

ETA: We saw it! And it was good! There was a super creepy weird part with this one guy who thought his liver was going crazy and he was jumping all around. And a girl he knew did an operation for him and she  cut his stomach open! It looked real and then it looked like she was grabbing in his body for his liver, but she was just grabbing in his coat and she pulled his liver out! But it was just pretend.

But the water pipe that broke during the show wasn’t pretend! There was smoke alarms going off. That was scary, too. And the actors played along like it was part of the show, but it wasn’t.

We’re going to see Wolf Under the Bed at the Wexner Center! It’s part of their International Performing Arts Series for Families. The performers are from Switzerland and they’re only coming here! So come here and see them!

We already saw the first performance in the series, The Frog Bride. We saw it live and we gave aways some dvds of it. Remember? It was so good, so we’re excited to see this one because it’s probably good too. I’ll let you know how it was when we get back, but I wanted to tell you about it early so you could get tickets if you want to. You can listen to Shelly Casto, the Wexner Center’s Director of Education, talk about it in a podcast here.

Or you can read a bit about it here:

In a hut in the middle of a forest sit three lonely Finns. They have seen wolf tracks in the snow outside, and they start telling each other stories about wolves. Some are funny, others are exciting, but as the night wears on, they get scarier and weirder and more and more outrageous!

Wolf Under the Bed will be at the Wexner Center on Januray 16 at 7pm and on January 17 at 1 and 3. Get tickets! If you’re a member, you can buy one ticket and get one free!

Lena

PS photo by Theater Sgaramusch