10 · 10 · 08

Violence Concerns Children

Clara Sánchez/Translated by Caroline MacKinnon

[imagen]The Cine Colonial was the forum for a program of short films for children, comprised of 14 titles of which El zoológico, produced under the series of workshops for children ‘Juguemos a grabar,’ and Abrazo a la esperanza by Sandra Tapia earned the most attention.

El zoológico takes a child’s perspective to demonstrate the concern animals should be shown, while Abrazo a la esperanza depicts the desperation of a little girl and a victim of family violence, who with the help of her friends decides to run away from home.

To close the event, with its audience of babies, kids and parents, a brief dialogue was opened by filmmaker Sandro Tapia, as well as Jocelyn Hernández and Gil Oviedo of the short La noche de Mateo, which tells the story of Mateo, a little boy who travels through different worlds in search of the blue door.

The most common comment from the children had to do with their love of animals. They also wanted to know: “Why do parents mistreat their kids?” Tapia could only answer: “It happens all over the world, but we have to show both parents and kids that this is very bad.”

Tapia was also asked about the film workshops offered in Morelia for the past three years. “The program “Juguemos a grabar” tries to empower kids between 8 and 16 years old to practice film technique through video,” said the filmmaker, who added that starting next month a school will open to formalize these workshops.

“Why does the festival only last one week,” asked Paulina, one of the children who attended the event, to which the presenter responded: “I’m going to relay your concern to the festival organizers so they include more films for kids. You would like that, right?”