For the last five weeks I have hit the so-called expressway every afternoon and driven into Chicago to spend Wednesday evening viewing films from across the globe as a member of the Chicago International Children\’s Film Festival adult jury.
I have never read so many subtitled movies in such a short time.
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I served on the jury team judging Animated Features, along with Aaron, Alan, Anna, Eleanor, Glenn, Isabelle, Leslye, Lynn and Natasha.
Together we viewed over four hundred minutes of animated films. As a young Adult author I really enjoyed checking out the screenwriting from around the world. There are a few I plan on going to see again during the Chicago International Children\’s Film Festival in the fall.
As a jury, we looked at a variety of genres. Some movies were meant for kids as young as 2, others for elementary, middle grade and high schoolers. We were charged with the near impossible task of whittling down the list to pick two. We were called a jury, and jury we were, as we went over the films and deliberated, using various techniques to come up with the top ranked films. While some jurors had to say goodby to their personal favorites, in the end everyone felt pretty satisfied with our final selections.
Which two did we select?
You\’ll have to wait for the official announcement. And think about attending the 30th annual Chicago International Children\’s Film Festival October 25 – November 3, 2013, if you are in the Chicago area. Visit http://www.cicff.org/content/fest-faqs/35 in the upcoming weeks for the complete schedule and festival highlights.