Kennedy Park movie premieres Friday at library

"Kids of the World," the latest film by Craig Saddlemire, of Lewiston, back center,  features 11 children, four stories and one park. The film will premiere at the Lewiston Public Library on Friday at 6 p.m. Starring in the film are, from left, Sahara Abdirahman, 14, Abdikadir Abdulle, 15, Mohamed Mohamed, 15, and Johorey Abdirahman, 12.

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- Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Binto Mohamed reads her story aloud to a group last summer. Her story is one of four in "Kids of the World," a local film about youth's stories from Kennedy Park. It will be shown at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Lewiston Public Library.

Abdikadir Abdulle squints in the summer sun as he looks for his basketball in Kennedy Park. A movie about kids stories from Kennedy Park, titled "Kids of the World," will be shown at 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Lewiston Public Library.

LEWISTON — A new movie about children from all over the world who call Lewiston home will premiere at the Lewiston Public Library at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

The movie, “Kids of the World,” was recorded entirely in Lewiston's Kennedy Park. It depicts kids from around the world discussing, inventing, performing and re-enacting stories that take place in the park.

Director Craig Saddlemire said youth involved in the film chose the title.

“Even though they all share this communal place, the park, they wanted a title that reflected their global identities,” Saddlemire said in a statement. “The stars of the movie really are from all over the world, Florida, Puerto Rice, East Africa. We put their ideas into a script and made a movie out of their experiences and ideas.”

The film is the product of a two-week summer camp hosted by the Downtown Education Collaborative on Lisbon Street. The goal of the camp was for youth to explore forms of creative expression through the arts and crafts, storytelling and performance, said Sherry Russell, executive director of DEC. “We wanted to offer them different ways to explore their feelings and ideas, and have something to share with the wider community once the camp was over.”

Camp staff included Karen Ogg, the art teacher at the Franklin alternative school in Auburn, Tony Damiano, DEC staffer, community organizer Sarah Vazquex and local video maker Saddlemire.

Saddlemire has been making videos in Lewiston since 2005 with his production company, Round Point Movies. He said he likes to create movies through collaboration and self-representation.

“Major Hollywood movies so often star the same people, and are told from a very narrow perspective,” Saddlemire said. “This project was the opposite. We asked the youth to imagine themselves as the stars of the story.”

They told their stories through writing, drawing pictures and improvisation, he said. Saddlemire took their ideas and created four separate stories that all take place in Kennedy Park.

The soundtrack to the movie features music by Portland hip hop artist Sonya Tomlinson, stage name Sontiago, who led two workshops on poetry during the summer camp.

The total running time for “Kids of the World” is 27 minutes. It will be shown in the library's Callahan Hall. Afterward, audience members will be invited to enjoy an art walk up and down Lisbon Street.

The event is free. Donations will be collected for UNICEF's emergency relief efforts for the famine in East Africa.

For more: http://lplonline.org/2011/09/film-premiere-kids-of-the-world.