by Brooke Varney
This year’s BFI London Film Festival is positively chock-full of hard-hitting dramas, raunchy comedies, and sweeping romances. However, if you’re looking for more family-friendly films that you can bring little ones along to, or even if you’re just looking to bring out your inner child, you’re in luck. We’ve chosen a few films suitable for all ages that have already caught our eye for this year’s festivities.
Song of the Sea
One night, when Ben’s mother flees their lighthouse home, she also leaves behind a baby girl named Saoirse, leaving the children’s father to raise them. Although as Saoirse grows older she never develops the ability to speak, she is enchanted by the sea shell her mother used to own, and finds herself drawn to and captivated by a group of seals that gather together in the sea outside their home. Regardless of the children’s grandmother arriving to take them to live in the city, Ben and Saoirse find themselves increasingly immersed in a world of ancient magic. Here, fairies, witches, and other mythical creatures help the children understand their mother’s fate and Saoirse’s ultimate destiny. Click here to buy tickets!
Finn
Finn is a nine-year-old boy who just doesn’t fit in at school. At home, his father is distant and still deeply grieves the loss of Finn’s mother. One day when an elderly man named Luuk moves into a deserted farmhouse nearby, Finn hears him playing the violin and the music transports him into a world where he can imagine being with his mother. Convinced that the instrument is enchanted, Finn asks his neighbor to teach him to play, but Luuk and Finn’s father have a history that neither is willing to reveal. While Finn’s oblivious father believes that Finn is playing football, he is actually teaching himself to play the violin. Click here to buy tickets!
Giovanni’s Island
On the Japanese island of Shikotan in 1945, brothers Junpei and Kanta live with their family. The war is lost, with the island becoming invaded by Russian troops who arrest the male inhabitants found in any home, yet the two brothers befriend Tanya, the daughter of the Soviet commander. A relationship begins to blossom until events take a serious turn, threatening the island’s already frail stability. Highlighting the contrast of the innocence of childhood with the harsh reality of war, the film chronicles the process of a family being torn apart. However, the brothers manage to remain optimistic with the memories of a story their father once told them, allowing them to believe that a better life is sure to come. Click here to buy tickets!
Robot Overlords
It has been three years since the robot invasion of earth, but Sean Flynn has never given up hope that his missing father may still be alive. He lives in a world where all humans have been fitted with transmitters to ensure that they stay indoors at all time, or otherwise be incinerated. An accident that occurs at home leads to one of the transmitters short-circuiting, allowing Sean and his friends the opportunity to infiltrate their alien enemies, and even a shot at freedom once and for all. Click here to purchase tickets!
Moomins on the Riviera
Upon the arrival of Mymble and her sister Little My who have just escaped their captors, the idyllic world of Moominvalley is disrupted. This prompts the Moomin family to take a trip to the Riviera, where they can experience high society at first hand and recover from the incidents that went on on their previous high-seas adventure. By a change of their last name to “De Moomin,” they are able to secure access to the best hotel in town. Although Snork Maiden is immediately entranced by the power of celebrity and Moominpappa is tempted by the lure of wealth and title, the rest of the family seems less impressed by the superficial world. Click here for tickets!
The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow
After spending 20 years in space, a satellite free-falls through the sky and crashes on earth, turning into a girl complete with rockets for shoes and weapons for limbs. A music-playing cow reminisces about his past as a human with a broken heart and musical aspirations, while a wizard is eager to help remove their curses. The only problem is that he has been transformed into a roll of toilet paper, inhibiting his abilities. The unlikely trio faces up to the ensuing menace of an incinerating machine and a witch with her pet “snouts”. Click here for tickets!