90-Second Newbery Film Festival

Next Monday, the 27th of January, the Youth Media Awards will be presented.  These awards highlight the best literature of 2013 as chosen by various committees of librarians. Among those awards presented will be the John Newbery Medal for children’s literature.  The Newbery Medal is awarded to books that go through age 14 and can cover just about anything. I was ecstatic last year when Katherine Applegate won the Newbery for The One and Only Ivan.  Below is information about the upcoming 90-Second Newbery Film Festival.  Here, kids and teens make movies that tell the stories of Newbery winning books in – you guessed it – 90 seconds or less.  Very cool.

With Newbery season upon us, it’s also time for the 3rd annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. It’s a video contest in which kid filmmakers create movies that tell the stories of Newbery award-winning books in 90 seconds or less. These movies are funny, ingenious, and impressive!

(Curious? We’ve gathered 25 of some of the best entries here, from a shadow-puppet version of Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon to a full-scale musical of William Pene du Bois’ The Twenty-One Balloons.)

The film festival has had sold-out shows from the start, with crowds of hundreds, including the young filmmakers themselves — who often get to meet the author whose book they filmed! These FREE screenings are in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, and Tacoma, co-hosted by festival founder and author James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish) and superstar children’s authors such as Jon Scieszka, Kate DiCamillo, Rebecca Stead, Blue Balliett, and more.

Below are the screening dates, co-hosts, and links to reserve your seat (since this free event is popular, it often “sells out”).

February 1, 2014 Screening in CHICAGO at the Vittum Theatre (1012 N. Noble, Chicago). With co-host Keir Graff. 3-5 pm. Reserve a seat.

February 8, 2014 Screening in OAKLAND, CA at the Rockridge branch of the Oakland Public Library (5366 College Ave, Oakland). With co-host triple Newbery Honor winner Jenni Holm. 12 pm – 1:15 pm.

February 8, 2014 Screening in SAN FRANCISCO at the San Francisco Public Library main branch (100 Larkin St.). With co-host Newbery Medal winner Katherine Applegate. 4-5:30 pm. Reserve a seat.

March 1, 2014 Screening in TACOMA, WA at the Tacoma Library Main Branch (1102 Tacoma Avenue South). 3-5 pm.

March 2, 2014 Screening in PORTLAND, OR at da Vinci Arts Middle School (2508 NE Everett Street, Portland). 3-5 pm. Reserve a seat.

March 22, 2014 Screening in NEW YORK CITY at the New York Public Library main branch (476 5th Ave, New York, NY) in the Bartos Forum. With co-host Printz Medal winner Libba Bray. 3-5 pm. Reserve a seat.

If you want to see what previous screenings have been like, here are write-ups of previous shows at the New York Public Library (with co-host Jon Scieszka and special guest Rebecca Stead), Chicago Public Library, and Multnomah County Public Library (with Laini Taylor) in Portland, OR.