French Films
French Animation is always the crème de la crème. The shorts in these programs explore a diversity of techniques, from stop motion to cutout animation, to computer animation, all at the highest visual level. The messages are both uniquely French, while being universal at the same time. The Films in this series explore characters, settings, stories, and points of view, from France, Belgium, French-speaking Canada, Africa, and beyond.
Programs include an introduction and post-screening discussion and curriculum aligned with the Common Core.
All world language films are subtitled in English.
Subtitles can be read aloud (by Facets’ Media Educator) for grades Pre-K – 2.
Flexible scheduling throughout the day – come to us or let us come to you! For details about year-round screenings at Facets or at your school CLICK HERE . To book your gruop contact the Group Sales Coordinator at fldtrips@facets.org or (773) 281-9075 ext. 3009.
Animal Neighbors and Friends
Animated Shorts Program
Grades Prek-K (Ages 3-6)
75-minute program includes media education
CLICK HERE for a printer-friendly PDF
The animals in this collection of shorts know how to get things done! What happens when bunnies run out of ingredients for their favorite confiture? Set sail for the islands to get more carrots, of course! Then, in another short, animal friends learn to share their nuts – and learn how they grow, as well. And in another short – can one kitty learn thoughtful table manners from his buddies? In another short, a squirrel and bunny share the respective nutritional merits of their favorite yummy foods, in cooking and in song. The characters in this collection know a great deal about the world around them already and are happy to share with us.
Pipsqueak Prince (France)
Bali: “Signing Time” (France)
Little Hedgehog (Belgium/France)
Dimitri: “The Collection of Peanuts” (France/ Belgium/ Switzerland)
Carrot Jam (Belgium/France)
Welcome to Bric and Brac:”Bath Time for Milo” (France)
Scent of Carrots (Belgium/France)
Animated Shorts Program
Grades 1-3 (Ages 7-9)
75-minute program includes media education
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The characters in this collection of shorts make new friends in the unlikeliest places. In one film, a man discovers a genie in a food can – but instead of extravagant wishes, yearns for simple pleasures. In another film, Anatole is misunderstood and hides under his constant companion, his saucepan. That is, until a kindly lady shows him to celebrate his artistry and to embrace how special he really is. In another film, an unlikely group sets aside their differences to make the best meal possible. Includes 2014 Festival “Best of Fest” winner, “Anatole’s Little Saucepan.”
Story of the Mean Dragon, The (Canada)
Page from a Notebook (France)
Time Off (France)
Delirious Tales: “The Chicken, the Elephant, and the Snake” (France/Belgium)
Anatole’s Little Saucepan (France)
Giant Carrot (Belgium/France)
Captain Fish (France)
Genie from the Ravioli Tin, The (France)
Scent of Carrots (Belgium/France)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
90-minute program includes media education
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Watch your favorite characters from classic children’s books leap from the pages in this lovingly animated feature! His favorite auntie has left young Nat her beloved library – but he is a struggling reader. Looking to help his family save their fixer-upper, Nat offers up the collection to a disreputable book dealer, only to find that the library is magical.
Having discovered his friends, Alice in Wonderland, the Ogre, and Peter Pan, Nat must find the secret to keeping them alive for others, too. Find out why the love of reading can give your imagination wings!
Featuring the voice of Jeanne Moreau!
Screened in French, with English subtitles.
Quests and Companions
Animated Shorts Program
Grades 4-6 (Ages 10-12)
90-minute program includes media education
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The characters in this collection of short films yearn for more – for adventure, for companionship, or for the simple pleasures in life. In one film, a city cat dreams of a rooftop garden, but can it cross a busy city street, having never left the cozy apartment life? In another film, an outsider wishes to be part of games, like any other boy. Then, in another film, a man discovers a genie in a food can – but rather than wishing for extravagant things opts for a beautiful meadow and a pleasant meal with friends, instead. Includes 2012 Oscar short-list film, “Specky Four Eyes.”
Page from a Notebook (France)
Anatole’s Little Saucepan (France)
So Many Forests (France)
Dunce, The (France)
Sleeping Donkey (France)
Elephant and the Bicycle, The (Belgium/France)
Genie from the Ravioli Tin, The (France)
Apartment Cat, The (France)
Kali, the Little Vampire (France/Canada/Portugal)
Specky Four Eyes (France)
Centipede and the Toad, The (France)
Grades 5+ (Ages 10+)
115-minute program includes media education
Click here for print-friendly PDF
Inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, this exquisitely animated feature film by French master Michel Ocelot, is set in late medieval North Africa. Two boys raised as brothers – blue-eyed, light skinned Azur and brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar – are separated as children and later become competitors on a dangerous quest to find and free the imprisoned Djinn Fairy.
In French with English subtitles, this rite-of-passage adventure transcends the familiar story of European/Arabic rivalry to establish a connection between the two cultures, building bridges to inter-racial understanding. As the characters discover their underlying mutual respect, they begin to encourage one another along their parallel journeys. Together they find the courage to overcome all challenges.
Screened in French, with English subtitles. Also available in English and in French without subtitles.
Zarafa 
Animated Feature Film (France)
Directed by: Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie
Ages 9-11 (Grades 4-6)
90-minute program includes media education.
ZARAFA is available to screen in English or French with English subtitles.
Inspired by a true story and the beloved French children’s book, Zarafa is an adventure gorgeously animated and beautifully told. Maki, a young African boy, escapes the clutches of an evil slave trader. After outwitting his captors, Maki befriends Hassan, a soldier from Alexandria, and Zarafa, a giraffe from Africa, who help him find his good friend Soula and return to his village in Africa. With the help of old and new techniques, Maki and his friends also attempt to destroy the evil trader and help Zarafa escape from her captivity in a French zoo. The characters in Zarafa perform tremendous acts of courage while crossing Africa and Europe. Together they create a fun and adventurous story that keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats!
CICFF Best of Fest winner 2012!
Adama
Animated Feature Film (France)
Grades 6+, Ages 11+
95 min. (includes media education)
Screened in French, with English subtitles.
As twelve-year-old Adama is about to experience his boyhood rite of passage, he and his brother’s lives are changed forever. Adama lives in a remote African village, but his older teenaged brother Samba gets lured outside of their community to join the ranks of the Tirailleurs, (French West African soldiers recruited by the French during World War I). Despite all odds, Adama goes on a journey and finds his brother at the ferocious Battle of Verdun on the Western Front. This stunningly animated coming- of-age story is an inspiring depiction of perseverance, personal striving, where fraternal bonds triumph.
CICFF Best of Fest winner 2015!
Reflections and Dreams
Animated Shorts Program
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-14)
90-minute program includes media education
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Who am I? The characters in these shorts look to know themselves better and take the time to see just where they fit in. In one film, a teen looks back to her youth to gain wisdom from her mother. In another film, In the last film, a jealous toad looks to bring the downfall of a fellow creature, just by asking a simple question of self-reflection. And when a civil servant suddenly finds himself becoming … an escargot … will he crawl into his shell or persist in imagining himself all alone? Includes 2012 Academy Award Short List Film “Specky Four Eyes.”
Birds of Sorrow (France)
So Many Forests (France)
Specky Four Eyes (France)
Centipede and the Toad, The (France)
Tulkou (France)
N’Djekoh (France)
Shell, The (Belgium)
Necktie, The (Canada)
Animated Feature Film (France)
Director: Jean-François Laguionie
Grades 8+ (Ages 14+)
95-minute program includes media education.
Enjoy a feast for the eyes and the imagination in this feature-length animated film about an imaginary world where characters in paintings come to life. Meet the impeccably painted Alldunns, who live in a majestic palace, and the Halfies, who are shunned by the Alldunns because the Painter has left them incomplete. Meanwhile, the untouchable Sketchies, simple charcoal outlines, are banished to the cursed forest. Follow the adventures of Claire, a Halfie, and her beloved Ramo, an Alldunn, as they journey to discover what the Painter has in mind for all his creations.
Screened in French, with English subtitles.
Taking the Plunge
Animated Shorts Program
HIgh School (Ages 15+)
90-minute program includes media education
CLICK HERE for a printer-friendly PDF
The characters in these short films explore their identities in different directions. In one film, can a young woman finally jump off the high dive, or is she trapped in her relentless, indecisive ennui? In another film, Sense of place, belonging, identity, career aspirations – where do these real-life characters in Burkina Faso see themselves going? In another film, the daughter of a film director fixates on a French film classic and imagines herself part of the world of cinema. But cinema is illusion, oftentimes far from imagined reality!
Birds of Sorrow (France)
I Am As I Am (France)
School of Fine Arts, The (France)
I Can’t Wait (France)
Mist Is Coming In, The (Belgium)
Taking the Plunge (France/Belgium)
Wanderer of Saint-Marcel (France)
Angélique’s Day for Night (France)
Pondering (Belgium/Burkina Faso)
Tulkou (France)
N’Djekoh (France)
Identity vs. Reality
Animated Shorts Program
HIgh School (Ages 15+)
90-minute program includes media education
CLICK HERE for a printer-friendly PDF
Where does one go when one is now part of the adult world of work, obligation, family? Is it possible to still be an individual – or is one’s fate only as a cog in a machine not of one’s making? In a beautifully animated short film, a policeman reflects on his ancestry and loss of identity, constantly bullied by his superior officer. In another film, a respected office worker finds himself part of an unexpected scheme in a parallel universe. The triumphs of the individual do not go unnoticed in this collection of powerful and inventive animated shorts.
Ben Hora (France)
Engine 371 (Canada)
Woodcutter, The (France)
O’Moro (France)
Shell, The (Belgium)
Necktie, The (Canada)
Fard (France)
Documentary Feature Film (Germany)
Director: Régis Sauder
High School (Ages 15+)
85-minute program includes media education.
When the teenaged students of Diderot High School in France begin reading The Princess of Cleves in class, the parallels between their own lives and the events of the novel soon become apparent. This compelling documentary interweaves passages from the novel concerning love, fidelity and morality with unusually frank interviews with the students about these issues in their own lives. Featuring students of different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds as they read and study the novel in preparation for the “Bacc” (baccalaureate exam), this film provides insight into the way literature can both imitate and impact student’s lives.
Screened in French with English subtitles.
