Lawrenceville's Row House Cinema will host the third Pittsburgh International Children's Festival in July. There will be new programming this year, including baby-friendly flicks.
The festival will feature short films from the New York International Children's Film Festival, documentaries and foreign animated films. Highlights include "Landfill Harmonic," a documentary about children in Paraguay making instruments from landfill garbage, and French-Belgian animated comedy "The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales."
There will also be a healthy dose of nostalgia for parents, with movies like "The Great Muppet Caper," "Babe" and "Labyrinth."
Row House marketing director Kelsey Zehmisch said this year, the festival will hold some baby-friendly film screenings for new parents. That means breastfeeding and crying are OK.
"We're going to lower the volume, pull up the lights a little, and just give them a comfortable environment to enjoy a movie while also taking care of their baby," Zehmisch said.
Zehmisch said it's important to make a space for new parents to be able to get out of the house and not be worried about their babies being disruptive.
"Being a parent is so hard," she said. "There's not a ton of places where you can go in public and feel totally comfortable."
The film festival, which runs from July 26 to August 1, is in collaboration with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Museum Lab and arts non-profit Assemble for special events throughout the week.
