We’re coming to the end of the fifteenth season of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! And on May 29, we had our Tacoma screening at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts. Thanks to Mr. Johnson at Grant Center for setting up the GoFundMe for this screening, and to all the wonderful folks who donated to it, with a special thanks to the Friedman family for their generous matching contribution! And thanks most of all to the young filmmakers who created the movies, and the teachers, librarians, and family who helped them.

And thanks to my lovely and talented co-host, Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey! As usual, he and I sang a ridiculous song to open the show . . . this time, based on “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, with lyrics rewritten to be about the Newbery.

Doug is a true showman, and I love that I get to perform a goofy song with him every year!

Every screening features a mix of locally-made movies and the best of what we’ve received nationally throughout the year. Let’s look at some of the local movies that were featured!

ActorCraft Page, Stage, and Screen of Gig Harbor, WA has been participating lately with some really snappy movies. Their 32 Hour Film Frenzy Workshop made this adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1994 Newbery Medal Winner The Giver, and the script, performances, and cinematography were all top-notch:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The script did a fantastic job of telling the story quickly and with humorous verve—and I particularly liked that the Giver himself is pretty funny (‘I’m known for my motivational speeches’ and ‘I’ll finally get some rest, maybe take interpretative dance’ were my favorite lines of his) . . . But the strongest thing about this movie is the performances: anchored by a realistic Jonas and a wry Giver, and supported by often amusing performances from the friends and family and other characters.”

The good folks at ActorCraft also did this adaptation of Donna Barba Higuera’s 2022 Newbery Medal Winner The Last Cuentista:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Strong, compelling, believable performances—some incredible acting and directing here! I was particularly impressed at the scenes of the secret meetings in which everyone is sharing recollections, and at the end when everyone is standing up to announce their specific memories. In a canny move, this movie dispenses with many of the picky details of the story (the visits to the planet, the subplot about the poison, etc.) and chose instead to concentrate on the book’s more general themes of memory, cultural inheritance, and meaning-making.”

We got five movies from Bryan Johnson’s fifth grade class at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts! The first one is based on Kwame Alexander’s 2015 Newbery Medal Winner The Crossover, and it’s by Mila, Akira, Ma’liya, Emmett, and Michael:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “Fantastic! From the very beginning I knew this would be good, with the music’s opening flourish and all the cast popping their heads into the frame from offscreen—brilliant! There was an ingenious use of green screen throughout, with extra touches like an animated CGI tiger, or the way the dad’s corpse hilariously flies up into the sky during his funeral. The lyrics to the theme song for ‘Sofia the First’ were cleverly written into ‘Filthy the First’ and effectively got across the main plot points of the story. The singing was enthusiastic and fun to listen to, as well!”

This next movie from Grant Center is based on Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery Medal Winner When You Reach Me, and it’s by Isaiah, Claire, Wren, Cora, and Elizabeth:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “It was a fun idea to adapt the story in the style of K-Pop Demon Hunters, complete with flashy outfits (I especially liked that pseudo-militaristic one with the elaborate epaulettes) and a reference to the ‘Soda Pop’ song at the end . . . The story was grounded by a believable and compelling performance of Rumi . . . Fun to watch!”

M.T. Anderson’s 2024 Newbery Honor Book Elf Dog and Owl Head was adapted by Mimi, Katja, Janessa, Simon, and Bennett:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “This was a fun sprint through the story, made especially entertaining by the committed performances of the dogs crawling around, making dog noises, and even dogfighting . . . Hit many of the plot points compellingly and with style!”

Maxine, Teddy, Frances, Janaee, and Adam did this adaptation of Beverly Cleary’s 1982 Honor Book Ramona Quimby, Age 8:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “I love it when filmmakers adapt the books in a musical style! The singing and performances were fun to listen to, and the subtitles helped keep the cleverly written lyrics clear so I could understand every word. There was a cool use of green screen for backgrounds, and also for the occasional surprising foreground detail like the raw egg on Ramona’s face and the vomit! The enthusiasm and committed spirit of all the performers really made this movie work, and the movie hit most of the plot points in a way that was both swift and entertaining.”

Finally from the Grant Center, we have George Selden’s 1961 Newbery Honor Book The Cricket in Times Square, as adapted by Violet, Brynn, Jerimiah, Lulu, and Tyce. This movie is a creative imagining of what would happen to Chester the cricket after the events of the original book: he visits the countryside, but on his way back to New York City, he makes a wrong turn, and ends up in Seattle! This movie shows off some of Seattle’s notable tourist attractions:

As the judges said on the 90-Second Newbery website (full review here), “The background music kept the energy up, the performances were lively and appealing, and I was intrigued to meet Chester’s new Seattle friends, each with distinct personalities. I agree: the Seattle waterfront park is better than a drainpipe, and ‘New York can wait!'”

And that was the Tacoma 2026 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Here’s to many more screenings in Tacoma—it’s such a warm, supportive, creative community there!

Did you enjoy the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Do you want us to keep doing it? Then please help us out with a tax-deductible donation. Our fiscal sponsor is Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization.