Press Release Fun: Get Ready for the 13th Annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival!

It’s that time of year again—time for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! It’s an annual video contest founded by James Kennedy (author of the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish and some books for adults) in which kid filmmakers create supershort movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in just a few minutes—preferably with a fun twist. Weird interpretations are encouraged: previous standouts include Charlotte’s Web in the style of a horror movie, or The Twenty-One Balloons done as a musical!

(Want to see some of the all-time best videos? They’ve collected a bunch of them on the 90-Second Newbery website here.)

The film festival is now in its thirteenth year! In 2024 they’ll be doing live screenings in New York City, Chicago, Boston, San Antonio, Rochester NY, Ogden UT, Tacoma WA, and Gig Harbor WA. These screenings are always a blast, co-hosted by James and other well-known children’s authors . . . and they are always FREE! The shows consistently draw audiences of hundreds of folks, so make your reservations now:

Saturday, February 10, 2024
The BROOKLYN, NY screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Rita Williams-Garcia (Newbery Honor winning author of One Crazy Summer and more). In the Dweck Auditorium at the Brooklyn Public Library (10 Grand Army Plaza). 1 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, February 17, 2024
The OGDEN, UTAH screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Keir Graff (author of Minerva Keen’s Detective Club and more). At the Treehouse Children’s Museum (347 22nd Street). 6 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, March 9, 2024
The CHICAGO screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Mary Winn Heider (author of The Stupendous Switcheroo and more). In the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, April 6, 2024
The BOSTON screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Rebecca Mahoney (author of The Memory Eater and more). In Rabb Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square (700 Boylston Street). 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, April 20, 2024
The ROCHESTER, NY screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Bruce Coville (author of The Unicorn Chronicles, My Teacher is an Alien, and more). In the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman Museum (900 East Avenue). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, May 11, 2024
The SAN ANTONIO screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Nikki Loftin (author of If You Get Lost, Wish Girl and more). In the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. 11 am. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, May 18, 2024
The GIG HARBOR, WA screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and another TBA. At the Galaxy Theater in Gig Harbor (4649 Point Fosdick Dr). 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Sunday, May 19, 2024
The TACOMA, WA screening, co-hosted by James Kennedy and Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey. At the Grant Center for the Expressive Arts (2510 N 11th St.) 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

And it’s not too late to make your own movie for this year’s 90-Second Newbery! It’s open to young filmmakers up to 18 years old, and adult help is okay. The early deadline for submissions to the Brooklyn, Ogden, and Chicago shows has passed, but there is a later deadline of March 8, 2024 if you still want to submit to the shows in Boston, San Antonio, Rochester, Tacoma, or Gig Harbor. Here’s how to submit a movie.

In any case: if you want to make a movie for this year’s film festival, get busy now! (Want technical help and moviemaking advice? The 90-Second Newbery has lots of video resources and how-to guides here.)

Want to get inspired? Check out the video at the top of this post, an adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s 1978 Medal Winner Bridge to Terabithia—which tells the story from the point of view of the whimsical monsters who inhabit the imaginary land of Terabithia. Apparently Leslie isn’t the only one who met a grisly end there. What happens when a bunch of well-meaning but kind of incompetent monsters can’t keep their fantasy realm safe?

Filed under: Press Release Fun, Videos