“$6.50 Man is similar to my life.”

             - a patient at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

“Eep! is sort of like my life, because I have flying dreams.” 

  - Miles, a Redwood City Sixth Grader

"The whole class likes the movie. I also like that the kid looks like my little brother"

                                - a San Mateo Sixth Grader

What is an international peer? Imagine that children born in the same year in Berlin, Beijing, Bangalore, Berkeley or Boise are connected by the time they are born into the world. With our increasing connectivity through the mediated world, it is far more likely that these children can know and influence each other more directly, as peers do. Films that annually circulate through children’s film festivals give children additional markers to connect with international peers. It is emphasized that “international” includes us, too.

Our Project Activated Empathy Five Ways:


1. Peers selecting films for their peers

2. Learning about other children’s lives depicted in the films.

3. Learning about others in the same audience through post-film discussion.

4. Learning through the filmmaker’s point of view

5. Learning about international peers through post-film discussion.