29th Freeze Frame International Film Festival for Kids of All Ages

The 29th edition of Freeze Frame International Film Festival for Kids of All Ages brings drama, comedy, fantasy and animation from Canada, Cameroon, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and more to the big screen in Winnipeg, March 9 – 15, 2025.

The Opening ceremony and screening on Sunday, March 9 at 1:00 pm is FREE and open to all with the presentation of the film KINA & YUK (France, Italy, Canada / 2023 / English / 80 min. / Director: Guillaume Maidatchevsky / Classification: G / age 4+). This family-oriented live action film follows the adventures of two arctic foxes who are preparing to become parents for the first time at a time when global warming is altering the rules for everyone. The Canadian co-producers of the film, Les Productions Rivard, will introduce and talk about the making of the film after the screening.

Freeze Frame is pleased to welcome two special guests:

– Based in Quebec, Dominic James is an award winning screenwriter and producer, known for his work on family films like Coco Ferme (2022), winner of 15 international awards, three of which winning best film and four audience prizes, and Miss Boots / Mlle Bottine (2024), a feature film starring Antoine Bertrand and Marguerite Laurence (see description below).
– Based in Winnipeg and originally from Hollow Water First Nation, Gloria Barker is the Anishinaabemowin director and translator of CHUMS (see description below).

Films in the Freeze Frame 2025 program include:

MISS BOOTS / MLLE BOTTINE (Canada / 2024 / French or French w. Eng. sub. / 113 min. / Director: Yan Lanouette Turgeon / Classification: G / age 8+) When an orphaned girl loses her grandmother, her uncle, a one hit wonder opera composer, needs to take care of her until a foster family is found, while also struggling to finish his next big hit. Inspired by the classic Bach et Bottine (1986).

CHUMS / LES COPAINS (Canada / 2023 / Anishinaabemowin with Eng. sub. or French / 44 min. / Director: Dennis Jackson / Classification: G / age 3+) is a series about the adventures of a group of very young friends– an eagle, a beaver, a ptarmigan, a rabbit, and a girl–on Turtle Island as they discover their relationship with other animals and their environment on Mother Earth.

GREETINGS FROM MARS (Germany / 2024 / German w. Eng. sub. / 85 min. / Director: Sarah Winkenstette / Classification: G / age 8+) When Tom, a 10-year-old Autistic boy, learns that he and his siblings will be staying with their grandparents while his mom goes to China for 4 weeks, he leans on his love of space and treats the expedition as his first mission and his grandparents’ rural home as a distant planet.

THE SACRED CAVE / LA GROTTE SACRÉE (Cameroon / 2023 / French w. Eng. sub. / 95 min. / Directors: Cyrille Masso, Daniel Minlo / Classification: G / age 9+) In the heart of the equatorial forest in Africa, a king is poisoned by one of his subjects. On the orders of the oldest of the notables, an old seer is called for rescue. He suggests to two close aides of the palace to go to the sacred cave within seven days to look for an antidote capable of curing.

INSOMNIACS AFTER SCHOOL (Japan / 2023 / Japanese w. Eng. sub. / 112 min. / Director: Chihiro Ikeda / Classification: G / age 10+) Two insomniac students meet and start to spend their nights in an observatory together. Their bond becomes stronger as they create an astronomy club, but hidden truths threaten their relationship. The story is adapted from a famous Japanese manga by Makoto Ojiro and an anime TV series.

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF WINDS / SIROCCO ET LE ROYAUME DES COURANTS D’AIR
(France, Belgium / 2023 / English or French / 74 min. / Director: Benoît Chieux / Classification: G / age 7 +) Two sisters arrive at the house of their mom’s friend, Agnes, to stay with her for the weekend. Little do they know they are about to be swept into the world of Agnes’s fantasy books, and discover secrets that even she does not know…

NINA AND THE HEDGEHOG’S SECRET / NINA ET LE SECRET DU HÉRISSON (France, Luxembourg / 2023 / English or French / 82 min. / Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol / Classification: G / 9+ )
Nina and her father have always bonded over telling stories, but when the factory where her dad works is shut down, he becomes despondent. To raise his spirits Nina enlists her friend Mehdi to help her find a treasure that will make the family’s new found financial worries disappear…

CHICKEN FOR LINDA! / LINDA VEUT DU POULET ! (France, Italy / 2023 / English, French or French with English subtitles / 73 min. / Directors: Sébastien Laudenbach, Chiara Malta / Classification: G / age 10 +)
In this madcap romp, Linda’s mother Paulette only makes frozen food after Linda’s father died during dinner when she was a baby. After she unfairly punishes her daughter, Paulette promises to make Linda a real meal: Chicken with peppers.

ROSA AND THE STONE TROLL / ROSE PETITE FÉE DES FLEURS (Denmark / 2023 / English or French / 75 min. / Director: Karla Nor Holmbäck / Classification: G / age 4 +) A flower fairy, who lives alone in a rosebush, becomes friends with an adventurous butterfly. When the butterfly is kidnapped by an evil stone troll, the fairy sets out on a dangerous journey to save her friend.

The Video Youth Contest takes place Saturday, March 15 at 1:00 pm and is FREE and open to all with the presentation of videos made by aspiring young filmmakers ages 6 to 18 years in two age categories: Wee Reels (Grades 8 and under) and Reel Views (Grades 9 to 12). The awards for Best Canadian Short-Film is accompanied with a prize: $200 for the Reel Views category and $100 for the Wee Reel category.

The Closing ceremony and screening on Saturday, March 15 at 3:00 pm is FREE and open to all with the presentation of the film UPROAR (New Zealand / 2023 / English / 110 min. / Director: Paul Middleditch, Hamish Bennett / Classification: PG / age 13+). This film is a coming-of-age drama of a 17 year-old student who learns to get off the fence, stand up for himself, his whanau (family) and his future in this heartwarming story of identity.

Screenings take place at the CCFM (Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre), 340 Provencher. Tickets are available at the door, reserve tickets online or call 204.949.9355. Visit the festival’s website at www.freezeframeonline.org to see the full schedule, watch trailers, and find ticket and pass information.