Tumbleweeds festival's slate for kids includes an Oscar nominee

Ten feature films — including a recent Oscar nominee — will delight audiences from 4 to 14, and their parents, at the upcoming Tumbleweeds Film Festival.

The Utah Film Center today announced the slate of the second annual festival, which runs March 23-25 at the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City.

The films will be in five languages, from seven countries. Subtitled films will be shown with an in-theater reader to narrate them for younger audiences.

Here's the slate:

"Amazing Animations!" • (for 6 and up) A collection of colorful animated short films, which range "from four sisters trying to pass the time on a long trip, to a pigeon that sabotages a secret mission, to a dog that finds a new best friend – its own tail!" (Disclosure: Mrs. Cricket, Leslie Sorensen-Means, programmed the shorts selection.)

"Aurélie LaFlamme's Diary (Le Journal D'Aurélie LaFlamme)" • (Canada, in French with English subtitles; for 12 and up) A girl wonders if she might be an alien, as she begins her journey through adolescence.

"Bacalar" • (Mexico, in Spanish with English subtitles; for 9 and up) Best friends Santiago and Mariana try to rescue endangered wolf cubs from smugglers, with help from mystical animal spirits.

"A Cat in Paris (Un Vie de Chat)" • (France, in French with subtitles; for 8 and up) One of this year's nominees for best animated feature, this action-packed adventure about a cat leading a double life — as companion to a cop's daughter, and accomplice to a thief — features rich hand-drawn animation and a jazzy soundtrack.

"Circus Dreams" • (USA; for 8 and up) A documentary that chronicles a summer with Circus Smirkus, the nation's only traveling youth circus.

"Friends Forever (Mullewapp)" • (Germany; for 4 and up) A mouse, pig and rooster must ride to the rescue when their lamb friend is kidnapped in this animated adventure.

"The Letter for the King (De Brief Voor de Koning)" • (The Netherlands, in Dutch with English subtitles; for 8 and up) A teen-age squire must deliver a fateful letter in this medieval adventure.

"Louder Than a Bomb" • (USA; for 13 and up) An inspiring documentary set in the nation's biggest youth poetry slam, through the success and failure of four diverse high-school teams.

"The Magicians (Het Gheim)" • (The Netherlands, in Dutch with English subtitles; for 7 and up) An aspiring magician must solve his best friend's disappearance, and discovers all is not what it seems, in this family film.

"Moonbeam Bear and His Friends (Der Mondbaer)" • (Germany; for 4 and up) In this animated tale, Moonbeam Bear and his friends must help get Mr. Moon back into the night sky.

"Tiger Team" • (Germany, in German with English subtitles; for 8 and up) Luk and Patrick race to be the first to unlock an ancient palace of riches hidden in a mountain in China.

Tickets are $6 per screening, available at ArtTix. The festival also features workshops presented with Spy Hop Productions, for $30 each.