Each week FILMCLUB’s experts in film pick a selection of their favourite cinema releases for young kids to teens, under the age of 18.
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Jig: The True Story of the Irish Dancing World Championships
Cert: PG
FILMCLUB recommended age Rating: 11+
Running Time: 97 mins
Year Produced: 2011
Director: Sue Bourne
Cast: Brogan McCay, Julia O’Rourke, Joe Bitter, John Whitehurst, Claire Greaney, Simona Mauriello, Suzanne Coyle, Sandun Verschoor, Ana Kondratyeva
There are tans, tears, diamante and desperation in this enjoyable documentary that looks behind the scenes of the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships.
Rich with charming, emotional and frequently amusing detail, it follows the highs and lows of the competitive process, as colourful characters of all ages and nationalities descend on Glasgow for a week of fancy-footed drama. From Northern Ireland 10-year-old and first-time attendee, Brogan, to the Dutch teen veteran, Sandun, who regards Irish dancing as his salvation, these talents have dedicated their lives to the jig.
But after all the incredibly hard work and thousands of pounds spent on elaborate costumes, can they hold themselves together for their turn under the spotlight? Or will the escalating rivalry and tension take its toll?
Fascinating fact: The 20-strong documentary team worked 15-hour days during the Championships, so that they could capture their chosen competitors’ actions, from getting up in their hotel rooms to hearing the end-of-session results.
Like this? Try: Only When I Dance, Mad Hot Ballroom, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Rize, StreetDance
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Water for Elephants
Cert: 12A
FILMCLUB recommended age Rating: 11+
Running Time: 122 mins
Year Produced: 2011
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Paul Scheider
Told using the cinematic device of the flashback, Water For Elephants sees Jacob studying to be a vet at one of America’s best universities during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He is just about to take his exams when he finds out that both of his parents have died in a car accident.
Distraught, Jacob quits his studies and runs away, ending up on a train owned by a circus company. He is taken in by them and begins looking after the circus’s maltreated collection of animals, including an elephant called Rosie.
Jacob soon falls in love with circus performer Marlena, but she is married to his boss – the heartless man who trains the animals they all work with…
Like this? Try: The Greatest Show On Earth, Dumbo, Freaks, The Circus, Titanic
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Flying Monsters 3D
Cert: U
FILMCLUB recommended age Rating: 7+
Running Time: 40 mins
Year Produced: 2010
Director: Matthew Dyas
Cast: David Attenborough
The prehistoric world of the mighty pterosaurs comes vividly to life in this fascinating groundbreaker from the brilliant British naturalist, Sir David Attenborough.
Using gob-smacking 3D technology and CGI to enhance scientific facts, he tackles the mysteries surrounding these extraordinary flying reptiles that ruled Earth’s skies 220 million years ago – the period when the dinosaurs were beginning to dominate the land.
With wingspans of up to 40 feet and bodies the size of giraffes, it’s incredible that such monstrous lizards actually made it into the air, and Attenborough and his visual wizards do a fantastic job of showing both how and why they achieved it.
Globetrotting visits, including an ancient pterosaur landing site in France, result in an ultra-thrilling nature lesson.
Fascinating Fact: The film took an 80-strong team more than six months to complete, during which they travelled to 12 locations around the globe, from Germany to New Mexico.
Like this? Try: Avatar, Secrets of Nature, Jurassic Park, King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World, One Million Years BC
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About FILMCLUB
FILMCLUB is a nationwide education charity and experts in film for young people. The initiative offers access to thousands of popular and classic films from around the world for young people and teachers to watch and discuss in their school film clubs.
Visit www.filmclub.org for more information.