November 16, 2015. Cranston, RI. The Providence Children’s Film Festival (PCFF) invited Media Smart Libraries to an evening of popcorn, independent film, and lively discussion at Cranston Public Library where librarians were given the opportunity to watch independent film programming in action. At this event Eric Bilodeau, director of programming, explained how independent films make it into PCFF through a combination of virtual jurors who watch the films online and jurying events such as this one. The significance of jurying the films live is that it not only allows Bilodeau to ask follow-up questions and inspire dialogue, it also allows the community to come together to discuss, engage, and connect.
A diverse group of participants, representing all ages, participated in this film jury event; their commitment to PCFF's values--that films should inspire, connect, delight, and educate--was evident in their critical and thoughtful feedback. After each short or film clip, the children and teens in the audience were given the opportunity to voice their thoughts, followed by the adults, who included a group of Media Smart Librarian Cohort leaders. The younger set provided insightful critiques of the films that often enlightened and surprised the adults in the room
Eric Bilodeau said in his opening remarks that films have a place in the library because “libraries are about storytelling.” One of the goals of the Providence Children’s Film Festival is to see their films in Rhode Island library collections, denoted with a specific PCFF sticker, and that librarians will implement film programming using PCFF’s film discussion guides that are currently being developed in conjunction with URI’s graduate students.
Fun was had by all in attendance, and this event was an exciting preview of the upcoming Providence Children’s Film Festival in February 2016.