Since this edition of the Summer of Funner is coming to a close, we thought we’d use our final post to list the movies that we saw and ”reviewed” this summer. The theme of this Summer’s Movies was “Colourful Movies.” This year, we added a few new releases to the mix. And, for the at home movies, we made some fancy tickets!
Summer of Funner 2012 Film Festival
The Amazing Spiderman (Webb, 2012)
Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Anderson, 2009)
The Kingdom of the Fairies (Melies, 1903) & Nothing Sacred (Wellman, 1937)
Farenheit 451 (Truffaut, 1966)
Fantastic Voyage (Fleischer, 1966) & Cyborg 2087 (Adreen, 1966)
Desk Set (Lang, 1957)
Hugo (Scorsese, 2011)
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Here are Six Tips and Tricks for Hosting a Great Family Film Festival of your own.
1) Pick a set date, time, and overall time-span for your film festival.
We watched a movie every Tuesday of the Summer (a ten week span) at 6:30pm sharp. You might also just pick a weekend to do a marathon. Or, you might watch a movie in 20 minute installments each evening before supper. This fall, we’ll likely view a movie every other Saturday. And, we’ll change it up after the holidays to keep things fresh!
2) Choose a theme for your film festival.
This summer, we kept our theme open, choosing “Colourful Films” as a catch-all for movies that used colour in interesting ways. Last New Year’s Eve, we had an impromptu Sherlock Holmes marathon. We’ve also focused on Shakespeare films, book adaptations, and innovative movies. This fall, we’re thinking of picking a favourite director and his or her influences or a favourite actor or actress.
3) Make a calendar or program and tickets.
Whet everyone’s appetite for the films by making a film festival calendar and posting it on a corkboard or fridge. If you prefer to keep the titles a secret (or if you need to operate on a bit more of an impromptu vibe), just mark the “film festival” date and time on a big family calendar in the kitchen! On the night of the movie, issue movie tickets or grab a roll of tickets from the dollar store for the kids to swap for refreshments.
4) Look for free stuff whenever possible!
Scour your local public library’s listing of available titles and score those movies for free! Check your local listings for films that will air on television and record them or watch them as the air. Swap dvds with friends and family.
5) Serve thematic treats or meals.
Experiment with movie-themed snacks or a dinner that fits with the plot or storyline of your film! (This worked well for us on our Sherlock Holmes night.) Watching Harry Potter? Whip up your own imagined version of “butter beer” or chocolate frogs. Watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Order a pizza! Sleeping Beauty? ”Poisoned” Apple Slices (apples dipped in caramel or chocolate sauce). Once and a while, it’s alright to break the “dinner table” rule and have some fun right in front of the television. Cut yourself some slack and let loose! Eat when the characters in the film eat or when they say certain key phrases or when the camera changes shots or angles!
6) Follow up with movie reviews or other film related activities.
Write about your favourite scenes! Draw pictures of them! Have the kids perform exact copies or modernized versions of their favourite scenes and record them. (This worked well for us with stuffed toys when we watched Bringing up Baby a few years ago!) Compare and contrast the movies you’ve watched all season! Here’s a copy of our Movie Review Worksheet from our post on Moonrise Kingdom & Kids Movie Reviews in pdf format: Movie Review Worksheet pdf. You can also copy and paste the image below:
Don’t forget to join us this September over at our sister site: http://www.thelunchboxseason.com!
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