Feature Focus 2021
Focus on Features for Grades 4-7!
We’re coming back next year with a hybrid festival, in-person and online, from April 3-13, 2022!
Students in grades 4-7 watch thought-provoking feature-length films, which are sometimes followed by a Q&A with a discussant about the film’s content, message, and aesthetic (to be confirmed). Students benefit from an in-depth development of media literacy and critical thinking skills, while broadening their cultural awareness and global understanding. By purchasing school group access for your class you will be able to view every film in the festival, and will receive up to three study guides of your choice. Study guides offer useful questions, activities and additional resources for integrating each program’s content into the curriculum. Three of the seven feature films suited to this age group have study guides.
R2R’s entire program will be presented on Eventive, a world class platform that is easy to navigate. You will be able to access every film in the festival from your account on one device only. Please be sure to initially log in on the device you will use to present to your students. We do not offer tickets for individual films. The purchase of your pass will supply you with one virtual ticket per each program on Eventive. Classes are welcome to view all short film programs as many times as desired, however once you’ve unlocked and started to play a feature film, you only have 48 hours to finish watching it. Please be sure to access the films you want to view by April 22.
When: April 14-23, 2021
Cost: There is an early bird discount for teachers. We accept payment online, by credit card only.
- Regular access for a single class is $75 (price includes educational materials)
To Register: Registration are closed for the R2R Online Festival 2021
Study Guide: With the registration and purchase of a school group festival pass, teachers are invited to select up to three film study guides. This year all study guides will include instructions to set up your own animation stations and steps to produce an animation workshop in the classroom without an instructor. The study guides are available for three feature films: Binti, Fritzi – A Revolutionary Tale, Veins of the World; and all five Reel Focus programs.
A note about subtitles: The films at the R2R Festival will either have English closed captioning or subtitles. We encourage young readers to follow English subtitles as best they can, and gain exposure to other languages, regardless of comprehension level. Research has shown that foreign language exposure sparks language learning.
If you have any questions, email education[at]r2rfestival.org.

12-year-old Abe might not have much experience cooking, but he certainly has a passion for food. Caught amidst escalating family pressure to choose Judaism or Islam, and in the crosshairs of his father’s resolute denouncement of all religion, Abe decides to try a bit of everything, like a true connoisseur. Unfortunately, each family dinner ends up engulfed in more tension than the last. Dinner has become a microcosm of the enduring hostilities which unfortunately define Palestine and Israel. Abe is slowly learning he can’t please everyone all the time.

Binti has a charming personality, she just doesn’t seem to have those all-important followers. Not yet. Convinced she has what it takes to be famous on social media, Binti vlogs every moment. When the immigration police raid her home, and try to deport her and her dad, they are forced to flee. Seeking refuge with her new friend, Elias must find the courage to stand up for his friend.

Twelve-year-old Florien is inseparable from his best friend, Lassie. Over 100-years-old, the glass blowing company, where Florien's father works, is forced to close its doors for good. Out of work, with a baby on the way, and cornered by an inhospitable new landlady, the family’s living arrangement is in jeopardy. The landlady, who has an aversion to dogs, tells the family to get rid of Lassie or they’ll have to move. Forced to give up Lassie, Florien is heartbroken. When he learns that Lassie has run away from the new place, Florien sets out to find Lassie and a grand adventure begins.

Sam has concerns that he’ll eventually be on his own. While on family holiday he meets Tess, a somewhat more worldly eleven-year-old who is definitely up to something sneaky! An adventurous summer unravels as Sam and Tess become unlikely friends, learning extraordinary things about themselves and each other. This heartwarming film won the Audience Award at the NY Children’s Film Festival.

When Maya is 12 years old, she suddenly loses her hair. Within two weeks, she's completely bald. She has Alopecia Areata . Maya's body repels her hair like foreign material. Two years later, she got used to her bald head. But summer is brutal. When it's too hot for a wig and cap to hide under. In Summer Maya feels naked. And she wonders: How do the others see me? Am I good the way I am? Am I beautiful? Almost like answers to these questions, Maya and her friends produce tons of selfies. And somewhere between clicking, sharing and liking, the girls grow into young women.

Convinced Akane is the sacred ‘Goddess of the Green Wind,’ an alchemist and his tiny fairy-like assistant usher her to their hidden world where not much makes sense. Director Keiichi Hara (Colorful, Miss Hokusai) returns to R2R with his marvellous creation, depicting a fantasy of pure Wonka-esque imagination.

This coming of age tale centres on the traditional nomad life of the Mongolian steppe, living in harmony with nature. After his father dies in a tragic car accident, Amra is forced to abandon his childhood reverie and assume financial responsibility for his family. Veins of the World marks Oscar nominated director Byambasuren Davaa’s debut, The Story of the Weeping Camel, as a dramatic feature filmmaker.