Budget-friendly flicks

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This article was published 11/03/2024 (741 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been a big weekend for the movies.

Yes, the Academy Awards were handed out Sunday night in Hollywood, but in St. Boniface, one of the city’s longest-running film festivals clicked play, showcasing nine hard-to-find, heartfelt children’s films for bargain prices — a single screening ticket goes for $6, while a family of five can get an unlimited pass for $50.

The Freeze Frame International Film Festival is for kids of all ages, says artistic director Pascal Boutroy, who co-founded the event with his wife, Nicole Matiation, in 1995 after moving to Winnipeg from Montreal.

This year, as always, the slate of films being shown spans the globe, with movies from Belgium, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Denmark and Canada on deck. All screenings are at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain at 340 Provencher Ave.

“There’s some very interesting stuff this year. I don’t seek out a theme, but this year, we have three films connected to disability,” Boutroy says.

The first is Tough, an Indonesian (with English subtitles) live-action production following a 10-year-old boy named Tegar as he navigates his way toward attending school following the death of his grandfather. Tegar lives with special needs, which at times make that journey rather complicated.

“Tegar is the hero of the story,” says Boutroy, who says the film resists the pull of melodrama and features a brilliant performance by child actor M. Aldifi Tegarajasa. That film screens on Tuesday, March 12, at 1 p.m.

Another film that has Boutroy excited is the Dutch production OKTHANKSBYE, a coming-of-age road-trip drama about two adolescent deaf girls.

“What’s interesting to me is that the director has suppressed a lot of the sounds in the film, emulating the world of these girls. I found that quite daring,” says Boutroy.

OKEDOEIBEDANKT, as it’s called in Dutch, has English subtitles and screens Tuesday at 10 a.m., and on Thursday at 1 p.m.

The third film that tangentially deals with disability is Butterfly Tale, a Canadian-German co-production aimed at the six-plus audience that follows a one-winged monarch butterfly named Patrick. Directed by Sophie Roy in English, the larval marvel takes flight on March 13 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Boutroy was also effusive in his praise of the Australian teen drama Sweet As, directed by Jub Clerc. Released in 2022, the film follows an Indigenous teen named Murra as she attends a photo-safari for at-risk kids.

Other films include the Canadian production Dounia & The Princess of Aleppo, directed by Marya Zarif and Andre Kadi. Recommended for children ages seven and up, the 2D-animated film follows a six-year-old girl as she travels with her family from Syria to Canada, carrying a few nigella seeds in her hand for the voyage. Dounia screens Saturday, March 16, at 12:30 p.m.

Adventures in the Land of Asha, directed by Sophie Farkas Bolla, is a live-action fantasy about a young boy named Jules and his friend Asha as they search for a cure to a mysterious disease together. Asha screens Thursday at 10 a.m.

The festival also features guest appearances by esteemed filmmakers Dennis Jackson and Jean-Christophe Roger, who will each lead workshops and participate in Q&A sessions. Jackson will show his new preschool animated series Chums at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Anyone interested in participating in workshops with those filmmakers should contact Freeze Frame through its website, freezeframeonline.org.

On the website, attendees can find a full schedule for the festival, which runs until Saturday, as well as ticket prices for families, individuals and schools.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com