An evening of short films made by kids from the past and the present in celebration of Children Reinventing Cinema: Snapshots from the Early 21st Century, a new book by Adjunct Professor Wanda Strauven and Professor Alexandra Schneider (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz). Introduced by Rob King.

After the screening, the authors and Associate Professor of Childhood Studies Meredith A. Bak (Rutgers University) will take part in a discussion moderated by Film and Media Studies student Ava Witonsky.

About the book

Children today discover a new digital drawing tool, the camera-crayon, at a very young age. They appropriate devices such as compact cameras and mobile phones and make their own media artifacts in their play. Expanding on a media-archaeological approach to film history, this book maps children’s playful and imaginative knowledge of contemporary media culture and explores their filmmaking practices that push the boundaries of forms and formats. Published by meson press.

Screening Program

• Make a Movie Without a Camera by Wayne Thiebaud, 1954, US, 5 min.
• Children Make Movies by DeeDee Halleck, 1961, US, 9 min.
• Ooit eens op een keer… (Once upon a time…) by Kobe Vlemings & Mingus Vets, 2016, Belgium, 1 min.
• Notre métier, c’est jouer (Our job is to play) by Pierre Sanou, 2018, Burkina Faso, 13 min.
• Let’s Make a Film by Yvonne Andersen, 1970, US, 13.5 min.
• IPAD by Nurit Hediger, 2013, Netherlands, 10 sec.
• green before “green” by Atticus Echeverria and Paul Echeverria, 2022, US, 9.5 min.
• singies, a compilation by Wanda Strauven, 2025, US, 3 min.

Run Time: approximately 55 minutes