tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post6394479792561780611..comments2024-03-13T23:42:25.845-07:00Comments on Animondays: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Kids FilmsDavid B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-40593940898118700142008-03-11T14:14:00.000-07:002008-03-11T14:14:00.000-07:00Hi Eric, Well said. You're right about kids, too. ...Hi Eric, <BR/>Well said. You're right about kids, too. I heard a lot of kids speak their minds right after each film. Talk about a focus group test! I was amazed that more preschool development executives didn't make it out to the screenings... <BR/><BR/>Maybe they were still exhausted from kidScreen.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-79655781615333866082008-03-10T19:39:00.000-07:002008-03-10T19:39:00.000-07:00Hi, Dave! Thanks for the thoughtful shout-out. It ...Hi, Dave! Thanks for the thoughtful shout-out. It was a blast sharing the screenings and q&a's with you. <BR/><BR/>One virtue of the kids' festival circuit is that you know where you stand with your audience right away. In the adult world, sometimes an ostensible compliment like 'good' really means 'adequate,' 'forgettable,' 'noxious' or even worse. In these cases, you need to hear superlative praise from the grown-up before you have any confidence that they found your work, well, good.<BR/><BR/>It's so refreshing to receive a compliment or applause from a young kid, because you can actually take it at face value. There were a lot of well-deserved compliments in the audience for Gil's film, Dave and Bob's piece and several others. Sometimes even the palpable sense that the kids focused on your film throughout (i.e. the all-to-rare silence during a kids' screening) is high praise from this crowd, because although they are young and a little unpolished in their behavior, they tend to be incredibly SMART.<BR/><BR/>And the intelligence of kids is a trait that far too few grown-ups-- including some who are programmers of kids' tv-- seem willing to acknowledge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-60402905068629570592008-03-10T06:46:00.000-07:002008-03-10T06:46:00.000-07:00Ha! That's a good point. I think that even if one ...Ha! That's a good point. I think that even if one makes a children's film and enters it in a children's festival, it doesn't quite hit home that you've really made a "children's film" until you are sitting amidst the audience of 2-5 years olds. Until then, it's more abstract. At least, that's how I've felt. <BR/><BR/>I think I've been damaged into believing that you've got to be in competition in Ottawa or Annecy to have really made an impact with a film. I'm retraining my thought process over time... <BR/><BR/>It's nice that there are so many fests these days that cater to all the different audiences out there.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-88924217087929028472008-03-10T06:16:00.000-07:002008-03-10T06:16:00.000-07:00It sounds like you weren't prepared to accept that...It sounds like you weren't prepared to accept that you'd made a children's film, even though the film is entered in a children's film festival. It's a vicious circle.Michael Spornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02018522723674960270noreply@blogger.com