CHIFF 2024 marks the 6th year of the Children’s International Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne and runs for the next month. The 2024 program is a month-long celebration of the cutest, funniest and most action-packed productions designed to enchant and inspire young children and their families. Of the 26 films that comprise the CHIFF 2024 program, there are 8 from France and the Francophonie. Most films screen in English, but one or two have French screenings or French with English subtitles. Discover them below.
COUNTRY: France
LANGUAGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 8+
A tender coming-of-age story about the unbreakable bond between a young girl and a rescue cat.
When Clémence discovers a kitten in her Parisian attic, she immediately falls in love with him and names him Lou. The pair form a close friendship that only strengthens as the bond between Clémence’s parents begins to unravel. When the whole family venture to the countryside for a much-needed family’s vacation, Lou’s curiosity leads to a series of thrilling adventures in the woods. Discovering new friendships and dangers unfamiliar to a city cat, Lou’s journey unfolds, marking a transformation from a curious kitten to a brave and adventurous cat. As the world around Clémence and Lou changes, the two will need each other more than ever.
NOTE: There is free feline face painting from 11am before the midday session on 30 June in both cities
COUNTRIES: Canada, France
LANGUAGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 8+
An exciting adventure from the creators of CHIFF 2019 hit Mia and the White Lion which travels from New York to the Amazon Rainforest with a compassionate message about conservation and animal protection.
Growing up in the Amazon rainforest gave Autumn the rarest of friends: a lost jaguar cub she named Hope. Now 14-years-old and living in New York City, Autumn discovers her childhood village is under threat from animal traffickers and decides she must return to the Amazon and find her beloved jaguar. Autumn’s endearingly clumsy biology teacher Anja (played by Emily Bett Rickards from the DC Comics television series Arrow) unsuccessfully tries to dissuade her from this reckless plan and unwittingly joins Autumn on her journey to the Amazon. Together the pair attempt to save Hope from those who seek to destroy the rainforest and its wildlife.
Billy the Cowboy Hamster: The Hero’s Return
COUNTRY: Belgium, France, Netherlands
LANGUAGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 5+
Billy and his Wild West friends are back for four new adventures in this charming and fun animated series that has captured the hearts and imaginations of CHIFF audiences.
Alongside his best friends, Jean-Claude the worm and Suzie the stone marten, Billy the hamster is ready to throw himself into whatever new adventure awaits him. After entering a comic writing competition and then looking after their sick friend Jack, Billy and his friends face their two biggest challenges ever. In the very special episode ‘Billy’s Mom’, Billy finds a mysterious letter left behind by his mother, which leads him onto a treasure hunt to find the final gift she left for him. Then, in the exciting final episode ‘The Hero’s Return’, Billy finally meets his hero, Jessy Dog, just in time to take on an infamous gang led by Blind-Eye Biff!
NOTE: Screens as 2x 11-min and 2x 22-min episodes.
COUNTRY: France
LANGUAGE: French with English subtitles
RECOMMENDED AGE: 8+
This stunning animation bursting with humour and pathos is winning animation and children’s film awards all over the world.
Paulette is trying to make up for unjustly punishing her daughter Linda by cooking her favourite meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds Linda of her father. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into the streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control.
Run-ins with a cavalcade of hilarious characters — a keen police officer, a watermelon truck driver with allergies, Linda’s grandma and Paulette’s bad-tempered sister — make the quest to find a chicken almost impossible. And unbeknownst to Linda, the search for the delicious chicken dish will unlock some emotional memories.
Ernest and Celestine: A trip to Gibberitia
COUNTRY: France, Luxembourg
LANGUAUGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 6+
A joyous return to the big screen for Ernest the grizzly bear and Celestine the mouse. While they may have their differences, their strong friendship makes them as endearing as ever.
In this exciting new animated adventure, the pair travel back to Ernest’s country, Gibberitia, to fix his broken violin. This mysterious land is home to the best musicians in the world, however, upon arriving, our heroes discover that music has been banned, and for them, a life without music is unthinkable. Along with the help of new friends they meet on the way, including a mysterious masked outlaw, Ernest and Celestine must try their best to bring music and happiness back to the land of bears.
COUNTRY: France, UK, Luxembourg
LANGUAGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 7+
Adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s classic shipwreck novel and featuring the voices of Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Academy Award nominees Sally Hawkins (Paddington) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).
Michael is on a round-the-world sailing trip with his family when a storm strikes, and he and his beloved dog Stella are washed overboard and end up on a remote island in the Pacific. Michael soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Soon, the mysterious Japanese stranger, Kensuke, reluctantly allows Michael into his world and they begin to form a friendship. But something threatens to destroy the fragile world Kensuke has created on the island, and they must use all their courage, skills and resourcefulness to try to save it.
A thrilling adventure story with a poignant ecological message that will resonate with audiences across the world.
Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds/Sirocco et le royaume des courants d’air
COUNTRY: Belgium, France
LANGUAGE: English (but also screening in French, see below)
RECOMMENDED AGE: 8+
Drawing comparisons to iconic animated films such as Yellow Submarine and the films of Hayao Miyazaki, as well as classic children’s stories Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, this fantastical dive into the world of dreams and imagination is a treat for the senses.
Sisters Juliette and Carmen’s love for reading fantasy books takes on a whole new dimension when they fall into their favourite novel, Sirocco and The Kingdom of the Winds. Now transformed into humanoid cats, the sisters are quickly separated in this new land, which features flying divas, technicolour dragons, and other mind-melting creations, including the mysterious blue-haired wizard Sirocco, who can control the winds. While Juliette and Carmen must figure out how to reunite and escape back into the real world, they find it harder than they imagined to leave their new magical world and curious friends.
Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds is also screening in French
COUNTRIES: Belgium, Spain, France
LANGUAGE: English
RECOMMENDED AGE: 6+
This is a film from the same writers who brought us Toy Story and PAW Patrol: The Movie. Directed by Jérémie Degruson, it’s described as an imaginative buddy film involving the misadventures of toys, puppets and animals in New York City’s Central Park.
Don the marionette is forever cast as the fool in the shows he must perform, and yet like his namesake Don Quixote, in his elaborate daydreams he is a hero who saves the day. Tired of being forced to take cream pies to his face, Don runs away from the theatre where he crosses paths with DJ Doggy Dog, an abandoned stuffed animal. The odd couple form an unlikely friendship and together embark on an epic adventure that will see them crossing the paths of the animal residents of Central Park as well as a pair of opportunistic thieves.
As you can see there are a variety of French films and films from the Francophonie to keep your kids entertained throughout the Winter school holidays.
KEY INFO FOR CHIFF 2024
WHAT: Children’s International Film Festival 2024
WHERE & WHEN:
Melbourne: Classic Cinemas Elsternwick, Lido Cinemas Hawthorn and Cameo Cinemas Belgrave
Sat 8 June – Sun 7 July (winter school holidays)
Sydney: Ritz Cinemas Randwick
Sat 15 June – Sun 14 July (winter school holidays)
HOW MUCH: Ticket prices are as follows:
Single Admission $16.00,
Member tickets $14.00,
Family Pass $55.00 (Two adults and two children or one adult and three children)
HOW: Purchase your tickets to the individual films via the links given above.
Which films will you take the kids to see at CHIFF 2024?
Also stay tuned to our social media for the chance to win tickets to CHIFF. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, and our English and French Instagram accounts.
For more film, check out our article about 34 films to see at Sydney Film Festival 2024 and What’s leaving SBS on Demand in June 2024? Last chance for these French series, films and docos.
