The NEW YORK STATE 2022 90-Second Newbery Film Festival: Online Screening!
Hello, New York fans of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Usually, we do our screenings live at libraries and theaters around the country, including at the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and in Rochester, NY. However, due to Covid, we can’t do our New York screenings live this year . . .
So instead, we are doing online screenings! In the video above, join film festival founder James Kennedy (author of the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish and the new adult speculative thriller Dare To Know) and author Keir Graff (author of The Tiny Mansion and many other books for kids and adults) as we watch the best kid-made 90-Second Newbery movies of 2022!
This is a special occasion, because 2022 marks the HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY of the Newbery award! And so Keir and I open the show with a brief skit in which we learn about the HORRIFYING PROPHECY that comes true on the centenary anniversary of the Newbery award. Will John Newbery rise from the dead? Will we once again sing our way bravely through an opening musical number? Yes and yes! Thanks to Javier Ramirez and the Exile in Bookville bookstore in Chicago for helping us out with that. (Go buy a book from them! They ship!) And thanks to Chris, Alice, Heather, Domingo, Lucy, and Ingrid for helping sing the opening song.
Want to learn more about the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival? Check out our official website at www.90secondnewbery.com. And remember, it’s never too early to start making movies for the 2023 90-Second Newbery Film Festival!
Thank you to all the young filmmakers for their fantastic movies, and the families, teachers, and librarians who assisted them! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the video above.
Here’s the running order of the movies, with links to their reviews on the 90-Second Newbery website:
1. Frog and Toad Together (Arnold Lobel, 1973 Honor Book) by Danielle, Lila, Sarah, and Julia of Lloyd Harbor Elementary School, Huntington, NY
2. A String in the Harp (Nancy Bond, 1977 Honor Book) by Brooklyn Apple Academy, Brooklyn, NY
3. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen, 1988 Honor Book) by Andrew, Connor, Jacob, Ethan, Quincy, and Zachary of Canal View Elementary School, Spencerport, NY
4. Maniac Magee (Jerry Spinelli, 1991 Medal Winner) by Mini, Lillie, Emily, Rayne, Crystal, and Antonella of Taylor Elementary School, Spencerport, NY
4. Doctor DeSoto (William Steig, 1983 Honor Book) by Mr. Johnson’s 5th Grade Film Club at the Grant Center for Expressive Arts
5. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Kate DiCamillo, 2014 Medal Winner) by Vivian and Alex, New York, NY
6. Because of Winn-Dixie (Kate Dicamillo, 2001 Honor Book) by Bennett, Elijah, Matthew, Lucianna, and Audrey of Taylor Elementary School, Spencerport, NY
7. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting, 1923 Medal Winner) by Eian-Gabriel Sinclair of Rochester, NY
9. Doll Bones (Holly Black, 2014 Honor Book) by the Leland Street Players
10. The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein, DID NOT WIN A NEWBERY) by Ella, Eli, Noah, and Mae, Brooklyn, NY
11. Last Stop on Market Street (Matt de la Pena, 2016 Medal Winner) by Mrs. Davis’ 6th Grade Students of Rochester Middle School, Rochester, NY
James Kennedy is the author of the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish and the adult speculative thriller Dare To Know. He is the founder and curator of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on the web at http://www.jameskennedy.com and on Twitter at @iamjameskennedy.
Keir Graff is the author of funny and fantastical middle-grade adventure novels including The Tiny Mansion, The Phantom Tower (named a Best Children’s Book by the Chicago Tribune), and The Matchstick Castle (an official Illinois Reads selection). He also writes books for grown-ups—some of them under fake names! He lives in Chicago with his wife Marya, sons Felix and Cosmo, and cats Toothless and Totoro. Follow him on Twitter at @KeirGraff and find out more at www.keirgraff.com.
Do you want to support the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, so we can keep this crazy show going every year, coast to coast? Please make a tax-deductible donation to the 90-Second Newbery here. The 90-Second Newbery is under the nonprofit fiscal sponsorship of Fractured Atlas.