The Big Family Preview

Think London Film Festival is all about bone chilling horrors, white knuckle thrillers and thought provoking documentaries? Well you’d be wrong, whether you want something to do with the kids on the weekend, want to relive your childhood, or just love kid’s films, the Family Strand has something for you.

Family Strand Gala (in association with Plusnet)

Goosebumps (Rob Letterman, USA, 2014)

After 22 years, 62 books, 6 spin off book series, a television show and many lines of merchandise, the wait is finally over, Goosebumps the movie is finally here. Based on R L Stine’s children’s horror books Goosebumps stars Jack Black as Stine himself whose daughter Hannah (Odeya Rush) befriends Zack (Dylan Minnette) when he moves in down the street. One day the pair accidentally release the ghouls and monsters written into Hannah’s father’s books, and it becomes a race against time to get them back into the book before the take over the town.
(Suitable for children aged 6+)


Family Strand

Adama (Simon Rouby, France, 2015)

12 year old Adama and his elder brother Simba live in a small West African village in 1914. They have been brought up to be naturally suspicious of strange spirits and negative forces from outside their community, therefore when Samba runs off to become a soldier, the entire village is left in shock. Soon Adama leaves the village in search of his brother, taking him on an eye opening journey across continents, Adama experiences the outside world for the first time, eventually confronting him with war torn Europe, where he learns his brother has been sent to the front line to fight in the trenches.
(Suitable for children aged 10+ due to mild violence and some sexual suggestion)

The Boy and The Beast (Mamrou Hosoda, Japan, 2014)
(Bakemono No Ko)

When Ren’s mother dies he runs away from home, ending up alone in the world for the first time. A chance encounter with a mysterious creature resembling a bear named Kamatetsu, leads to Ren visiting the town of Jutengai, where he soon learns the residents are like Kamatetsu and resemble animals. Lonely and lost Ren needs a parental figure and some guidance in his life, and selfish and arrogant Kamatetsu needs an apprentice so he can compete in the contest to become the new Lord of the Land, and thus the pair form an unlikely partnership. But as the story continues the pair begin to learn the value of companionship and realise that some journeys in life are better shared.
(Suitable for children aged 8+)

Celestial Camel (Jury Feting, Russia, 2015)
(Nebesnyj Verbljud)

Kalmykia is a rarely discussed or filmed corner of Eastern Europe, a federal subject of Russia, the Republic of Kalmykia in south west Russia is the only part of Europe where Buddhism is the major religion, and became known as international centre for chess. Jury Feting’s Celestial Camel is the story of 12 year old Bayir who lives in Kalmykia with his family of camel herders. Times are hard but the family are shocked when Bayir’s father announces he has sold Altynka, a young camel, to a film company working in the Kalmykia Republic. Altynka may be the fabled celestial camel, born under a camel shaped cloud. When the camel’s mother escapes to try and find her baby, Bayir follows in hot pursuit, knowing that losing both camels could destroy his family, travelling across arid desert, experiencing brushes with the authorities, painful natural obstacles and an explosive situation at an illegal fuelling station. With the respect of his family at the front of Bayir’s mind, Celestial Camel is a beautiful and fascinating story of a love, hope and determination in a little known corner of the world.
(Suitable for children aged 8+ subtitled in English. English subtitles will be read out via headphones for children)

The Invisible Boy (Gabriel Salvatores, Italy, 2014)
(Il Ragaazo Invisibile)

Academy Award winner director Gabriel Salvatores’ The Invisible Boy follows shy teenager Michele, bullied by his peers and living alone with his police officer mother, Michele wishes he could just be invisible, and one day he gets his wish. After taking revenge on his bullies and the inevitable trip to the girls’ changing room every invisible teenage boy takes, Michele befriends Stella, a girl he has had a crush on for years who mistakes him for benevolent spirit. What starts out as a coming of age tale soon transforms into a wonderful adventure story.
(Unrated, but due to themes of emerging sexuality and strong language, the film would likely achieve a 12A rating in the UK)

Mune (Alexandre Heboyan, France, 2015)

In a world where the Guardians of the Sun and Moon are tasked with keeping the balance between night and day, Mune is a young fawn who is selected as Guardian of the Moon, despite having no training or experience. When Mune mistakenly causes the moon to move away from the land of the dark, titan Necross steals the sun for himself, leaving Mune disgraced. Soon Mune and his friends are on a mission to worlds of nightmares to save the sun and moon before they disappear completely, in this wonderful animated tale suitable for all the family.
(Suitable for children of all ages)

When Marnie Was There (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Japan, 2014)
(Omoide No Manî)

In Studio Ghibli’s last film for the foreseeable future, sickly Anna girl is sent to live with relatives on the coast in the hopes the fresh air will cure her. On her travels one day Anna meets Marnie, who claims to live in a beautiful old mansion, at first glance the mansion look clean and perfectly kept, but then it suddenly start to look rundown and dilapidated. Anna dreams of her new friend and her home, trying to make sense of what is really going on, but Marnie is hiding a secret than Anna must discover before time runs out for Marnie.
Suitable for children aged 8+)

Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg? (Tim Clague, UK, 2015)

Nelson Nutmeg is the squirrel mascot at Nelson’s Retreat, a seaside holiday park. One day Billie, on holiday there with her family, sees Nelson involved in a fight and thinks he has been pushed over the edge of the cliff. Billie and her friends set out to discover the truth, but mysterious things start happening, a new Nelson Nutmeg appears, the park manager starts acting strangely and one of their own disappears. Making its UK premiere at the London Film Festival Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg? is an exciting and fun film, encompassing all the values of low budget, high concept filmmaking.
(Suitable for children aged 6+)

Shorts Collection.

A collection of bight and enchanting 13 short animation films, including pictures from Canada, Sweden, Mexico, USA, Finland, Ireland and more, will be screened at this year’s festival.
(Suitable for children of all ages)

All rating and age guidelines are taken from BFI’s official programme.

More information on the Family Strand including screening times and ticket sales can be found here x

Kat Lawson
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