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This Black & White Headband is the Ultimate Accessory this Halloween!

October 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Now that it’s October, there’s no denying that Halloween is in the air. While you might get a few stares if you start wearing costumes, there’s a way to add a little Halloween into your everyday wardrobe. Accessorize your outfits with a spooky headband!

The best thing about making this headband yourself is the fact that you can make it as subtle or as eye-catching as you’d like. That means you can easily make a headband that coordinates with any outfit this fall.

Wholesale Halloween costumes.com shared this great Halloween headband idea with us. They went with a hypnotizing look. This DIY Black & White Headband features tulle, feathers and hypnotizing ribbon flowers that will coordinate flawlessly with your outfits.

If headbands aren’t your thing, you can also transform a hoodie into a magical unicorn with the help of this no-sew DIY.

Or if you want to bring festival vibes to the Halloween season, keep an eye out for this future DIY post. Here’s a sneak peek at their Halloween flower crown!

Also, check out https://www.wholesalehalloweencostumes.com for some great costumes! I just love the headband options they have! My favorites are Yoda and Pikachu!

and check out this cool one!

Happy Halloween!

Self Disclosure: I received free samples to facilitate this post. No other compensation was received. Thank you to Whole Sale Costumes for the great DIY ideas and images. 

Filed Under: Featured Products of the Week

Beautiful Documentary Giving Insight Into Struggles of African Children

October 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment

A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated African tale is born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in Swaziland who collaborate to tell a story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character’s journey is interwoven with poetic and observational documentary scenes to create a genre-defying celebration of collective storytelling. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Talia J. comments, “Liyana is a beautiful documentary that not only educates people about epidemics that are occurring in Africa, but gives a creative animated story created by children.” See her full review below.

Liyana

By Talia Jacnuk, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15

Liyana is a beautiful documentary that not only educates people about epidemics that are occurring in Africa, but gives a creative animated story created by children.

Liyana is about five Swaziland orphans who, under the guidance of storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, create their own fictional character that embarks on a journey to save her brothers. The story directly correlates to the struggles they are experiencing and their own dreams. The character they create, named Liyana is fully animated throughout the film.

This film is one that everyone needs to watch. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own lives and take a lot of things for granted. This film highlights the struggles of these orphaned African children. Some of them don’t even remember anything about their parents. The film really opens your eyes to an unfamiliar place and allows you to connect on a personal level with some of their struggles. This documentary is not intended to pity the children in any way, but to inspire others to follow in their footsteps. I find these children completely inspiring, because they are prepared to do anything to make their dreams come true. They live their lives everyday with happiness and passion.

The animation is quite unique in many ways. It is very still and the characters rarely move. It’s a very interesting way to animate. I have never seen anything quite like this. It’s intriguing to see the subtle movements of the characters and the subtle sound effects in the background. The orphans that the film revolves around are storytellers of the film. I love hearing them express the characters. They occasionally make sounds to portray the weather such as thunder and then make sounds representing actions of the animated character Liyana. Overall, the sound and music in this film feels quite lively and upbeat. The music brings a huge cultural aspect to the film because the lyrics are in their native tongue. The music is quite beautiful and expresses African heritage.

This film takes you on a whirlwind of emotion. People hear about horrific events on the news, but don’t really find a personal connection to the struggles that people around the world face. This film provides a personal account of how children deal with disease and family issues. By showing the audience real people dealing with their struggles, this film can help spread the word about people around the world needing help and teach us that their problems are not just something to flip through as you change TB channels.

Definitely put this film on your watch list. It deals with some harsh topics such as disease and abuse, but it does so in a sensitive way. I recommend this film for ages of 12 to 18, as well as adults. The story is fascinating and the realness of the film gives us insight into the lives of African orphans. I give this film 5 out of 5 stars. It comes out on October 9 so go check it out!

 

Credit: KIDS FIRST!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Media Reviews

KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Auditions in Los Angeles; November 11; 2-5 p.m. Skirball Cultural Center

October 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Do you have a child who loves film, loves talking about film and loves to be on – camera? If so, we have a program for you – the national, KIDS FIRST! Film Critics, a project of the 25-year old Coalition for Quality Children’s Media.

KIDS FIRST! is pleased to be holding auditions at the Skirball Cultural Center on November 11, 2018 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The auditions are open to any child between the age of 8 and 18. To audition, you must register online at the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Audition site no later than November 2, 2018. Go to https://goo.gl/forms/RUx3NAVBiQxHVAbv1 to register. You will not be allowed to Audition unless you are registered.

As part of your Audition Registration, you will need to write a 200 word review of any film, DVD, TV show or web series released in the last 6 months, rated PG-13 or younger. Auditions will be limited to 30 children. Special consideration will be given to youth who are bilingual in Spanish and English.

Participation in the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics program is voluntary. None of the reporters are paid. However, the program offers a unique opportunity for youth to attend press screenings, press junkets and red carpets, learn to review films, present themselves  on-camera and interview celebrities. Many of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics have found employment in the entertainment field as a result of their involvement in this program.

Brianna B. (age 18), comments, “Being a KIDS FIRST! Film Critic has provided me with skill sets that will last a lifetime.  Who knew from being a KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, I would have one of my quotes on the back of a DVD, appear on a national syndicated TV show and interview so many great celebrities.”

Rather than talk abstractly about media, the KIDS FIRST! reporters are given a voice and their reviews reach up to 7 million people per release through KIDS FIRST! blogs on Kidzworld.com, Grandmagazine.com, our KIDS FIRST! YouTube Channel and 48 additional publications, both print and online.

Gerry O.’s mom comments, “This program not only teaches kids how to be better communicators, more pleasant company and knowledgeable movie gurus, it gives them so much more. These kids will be able to socialize and speak properly, write great essays, participate intelligently in debates and become confident leaders. My son Gerry was invited to present some of his film ideas to Morgan Freeman’s production team after interviewing Freeman on the red carpet three times in a period of six weeks.

He has completed over 200 reviews and taken numerous workshop at YouTube Space LA, representing KIDS FIRST! as one of a small number of channels accepted. He has interviewed many industry greats including Brad Bird, Morgan Freeman, Ty Burrell, George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Zoe Saldana, John Ratzenberger, Tara Strong and many more.

“We are delighted to hold out auditions at the Skirball Cultural Center this fall, ” comments Ranny Levy, Founder and President KIDS FIRST! / Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. “In the past, we have offered our KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Boot Camps in Los Angeles on the Disney and Paramount lots, in New York City at the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network’s HQ and in Washington DC at Discover Channel’s World Headquarters. Some of our Los Angeles based KIDS FIRST! reporters will be present at this audition and help us select new member to their team. It’s exciting to audition Los Angeles kids, where many of them already are active in the entertainment industry.”

Who: Any child in the Los Angeles area, age 8 to 18 interested in film and entertainment.

What: KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Auditions

Where: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049

When: November 11, 2018, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/73U1ws5BqHFolAry1

 

About KIDS FIRST! / Coalition for Quality Children’s Media: The Coalition for Quality Children’s Media is a national, nonprofit (501-c-3) organization founded in 1991 whose mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children’s media. The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics are a group of 50+ youth reporters, age 8 to 18, nationwide who review new film and TV releases, interview talent and share their views on entertainment geared for kids. Their reviews and interviews reach more than 7 million people every month. KIDS FIRST! is supported by major entertainment industry leaders, teachers, librarians, media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide. For more info, go to http://www.kidsfirst.org

Filed Under: Uncategorized