Mill Valley Film Festival 44

Figuring out who we are and what matters to us most is a lifelong practice that inevitably starts in our youth. In this grab bag of narrative, documentary, and animated shorts, meet a captivating group of real and fictional young characters who are finding their voice, their purpose, their values—and their wings. Prepare for take-off! In Golden Age Karate (Sindha Agha, US 2021, 5 min), Jeff Wall is a teenage martial-arts pro excited to share his passion for the dojo with an unlikely group of students: senior citizens. When a baby owl gets pushed from her nest in the animated Try to Fly (The Affolter Brothers, Canada 2020, 8 min), it triggers a darkly comic existential crisis that takes her from anxiety to ambition in rapid succession. Set in 1999 Novato, Furthest From (Kyung Sok Kim, US 2020, 19 min) tells the story of two best friends who must embrace change but separate from each other when their trailer park is evacuated due to a water contamination crisis. Are You Okay? (Ryan Cannon, US 2021, 9 min) addresses the rampant problem of cyber-bullying, highlighting the positive impact bystanders can have by simply reaching out to support their peers. In the cleverly animated Matilda and the Spare Head (Ignas Meilūnas, Lithuania 2020, 13 min, in Lithuanian with English subtitles), a drive to be the smartest person in the world leads Matilda and her mom to the misguided conclusion that two heads would actually be better than one. In Generation Impact: The Coder (Samantha Knowles, US 2021, 7 min), meet 13-year-old Jay Jay Patton, who designed and built a mobile app to help kids send photos and letters to their incarcerated parents. Kata (James Latimer, Japan 2021, 7 min, in Japanese with English subtitles) introduces us to the incredible spirit and unique talent of tween Mahiro Takano, a national karate champion in Japan. Finally, in Rise Up (Bryan Buckley, US 2021, 8 min, in various languages with English subtitles), hear from 12 inspiring children from around the world who address the question of who the definitive role models for mankind are today (we’re pretty sure it’s them). Age 9+