Get ready for the Irish Film Institute’s Family Festival, July 5th until July 8th. The busy event seeks to “capture the musical magic of the movies, investigate the science of film-making and take you on a trail of Irish animation”.

The jamboree opens with an interactive musical event utilising the talents of composer Morgan Cooke. The audience will help Cooke create songs and music before screenings of two shorts: The Magic Piano and The Missing Key.

As readers will be aware, domestic animation has been going through a purple patch of late, and the Family Festival will pay tribute with an Irish Animation Trail that allows families to see how they are created, watch them on the big screen and meet some of the men and women involved.

Main screenings include Alfie, the Little Werewolf, a Dutch romp by Joram Lürsen; The Gruffalo’s Child, a sequel to the kids’ classic; and the premiere of Moon Man, Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon’s latest feature. The German co-production concerns a benign lunar being who triggers panic when he travels to Earth.

Go to ifi.ie to follow the young reviewers who will be commenting on the event.