(ages 4 and up) This series of animated shorts will put a smile on your face. Films include My Happy End (Milen Vitanov, Germany, 2007, 5 minutes); A Sunny Day (Gil Alkabetz, Germany, 2007, 6 minutes); Giraffes Can't Dance (Weston Woods Studios, USA, 2007, 10 minutes); Puss and the Moon (Suzanne Tuynman, Netherlands, 2005, 5 minutes); Charlie and Lola: Welcome to Lolaland (Kitty Taylor, United Kingdom, 2006, 12 minutes); and How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton for the Walt Disney Animation Studio, USA, 2007, 7 minutes).

(ages 11 and up) The beauty and grief of present-day Afghanistan receives poetic treatment from eighteen-year-old Iranian filmmaker Hana Makhmalbaf. Set in central Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley, where in 2001 Taliban soldiers destroyed centuries-old sculptures of Buddha carved into the cliffs, the film is a haunting journey into the minds of the children who live in that desolate area. Amidst the rubble of the massive statues, an endearingly obstinate six-year-old Afghan girl, Bakhtay, wants to learn to read and write. After hearing that a school for girls has opened up across the river, she sets out on a mission to attend. The film follows Bakhtay as she faces obstacles, including her family's poverty and indifference to education, on her way to school. She must also traverse a no-man's-land, where she is "captured" by a band of boys who delight in playing war games that mimic the violence they have witnessed. Bakhtay's arduous journey across the river becomes a metaphor for Afghanistan's own difficult transition. This film is being shown in honor of the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, on view in the East Building through September 7, 2008. In Farsi with English subtitles (Hana Makhmalbaf, Iran/France, 2007, 81 minutes)

(ages 7 and up) Join us for a screening of two newly restored children's films by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. The Red Balloon (1956, 34 mins.) follows a young boy's discovery of a stray balloon. Wandering through the streets of Paris, the two become inseparable. White Mane (1953, 40 mins.) is set in the south of France in a near-desert region called La Camargue, where a strong friendship grows between a young boy and White Mane, a magnificent stallion and leader of a herd of wild horses. Films presented in English translation.

(ages 9 and up) Join us for this adventure film based on the true story of Scotland's favorite dog. Bobby, an extremely loyal terrier, gets up to some cheeky mischief in an attempt to remain by his master's side, even after his unexpected death. When a new dog law is introduced, Bobby's life is in danger and it will take the town of Edinburgh, Bobby's closest friends, and even the Lord Provost of Edinburgh to save him. (John Henderson, United Kingdom, 2005, 100 minutes)

(ages 7 and up) Enjoy a charming film about friendship, family, and the traditions of St. Nicholas Day. Young Winky Wong, a Chinese immigrant to the Netherlands, has a passion for horses. Her favorite is Amerigo, a horse belonging to Santa Claus that Winky has been asked to look after. She dutifully grooms the horse, while dreaming of one day riding him. When the horse breaks out of his paddock, can Winky find him before Santa Claus returns? In Dutch with English subtitles (Mischa Kamp, The Netherlands, 2007, 83 minutes)