Until March 18, New York City is hosting the New York International Children’s Film Festival ( NYICFF). The festival presented films from 24 countries. 50% of the filmmakers are women.

Since February 23, when the festival began, viewers have been able to choose from more than 100 films at six theaters across the city. Although the event is considered as a children’s festival, the films set no rules as to who you are or where you come from.

Among the films presented at the festival, Zoo and Zombillenium are two impressive (给人印象深刻的) ones. Zoo is a British war film that shows the difference that a kid can make.

Tom is the protagonist (主角) of this heartwarming story. Tom’s dad is the owner of the Belfast Zoo. After he leaves to fight in the war, Tom has to save the zoo’s baby elephant, Buster, from being killed in the war.

“I loved it,” said 9-year-old Gabriel Bieller of New York City after seeing the film. “It really taught how kids could make a difference.”

Ella Hanson, 7, was also moved. “The sweet story of a kid like me making a difference when faced with difficulties caused by a war,” she said, “was very encouraging.”

Zombillenium is an animated (动画的) French film about working hard to achieve your dreams. Hector Saxe is the immediately dislikeable protagonist. His management job is all about rules. But after he starts working at the amusement park (游乐园) that he hates, he puts all of his love into getting it ready for his daughter to visit.

The film had many positive reactions (反响) from the audience. “The story presented great, lifelike characters,” said Sami Ali, 12.

Oliver, 10, who did not provide a last name, said, “It was rather sad, but it underlined the importance of never letting go of the things that you care about.”

As I walked into the George Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theater, I felt as though I had stepped into a time machine. On the way to the traditional, old-timey box office, tons of vintage movie posters and the theater entrance made me feel like I was on Broadway. As everyone took their seats, an older gentleman who looked like he walked straight out of the 1920s gave the attendees a historical background of the film we were seeing-The Barker.

The film itself, which was released in 1928, is considered a “part-talkie”. Before films included synchronized (同步的) sound, films were played with live accompaniment and contained subtitles to add context. With the invention of synchronized sound, films slowly added talking dialogue in scenes throughout the film; these films were considered “part-talkies”.

The Barker, which explores the lives of carnival workers, is the talking debut (首次登场) of all of the main cast. The film was revolutionary not only for the technology but also for the actors. My film experience consists of mostly talkies, so when I finished The Barker, I felt like I witnessed something brand new for the first time.

The experience I had at Dryden Theater was unlike any movie-going experience I had ever had. The music, the film, and the atmosphere itself were completely unique! Since viewing films has gradually been switched to streaming services, especially since the pandemic, this has both increased the accessibility of films and stripped us of reliance on a social experience to watch a movie-one that attending The Barker reminded me of.

“Barbenheimer”, a phenomenon that contrasts the obvious differences in the recently released movies Barbie and Oppenheimer, allowed us to return to the movie-going adventure. Finally, everyone wanted big screens and surround sound rather than the tiny screens in bedrooms. More importantly, we were all able to interact with a piece of content alongside other people. “Barbenheimer” brought back the pastime of going to the cinema-one that I think we should continue to engage in. I say we take a page out of the 1920s playbook and return to the cinema.