02 September,2022 10:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Sammohinee Ghosh
Sairah watches Saving Amelia along with her father; (right) A still from Matthew J Fridg’s film. Pic Courtesy/Youtube
One of our favourite writers had rightly said that the whole of this world should be observed with glittering eyes because "the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." As joy-seekers, we have continuingly perceived the sincerity in Roald Dahl's words. And so have Sairah Agarwal and her new fictional friends, Anna and Miriam Fridg.
Sairah, a tween who often negotiates bedtime and other dull calls of routine with that "just one more chapter" request, is disinterested in digital content. "Books are her world. I have had to persuade her to watch a couple of Harry Potter films and Danny DeVito's Matilda, but she mostly connects intermittently," confesses Ankit Agarwal, Sairah's father. Will a book-lover be interested in Cornucopia Pictures, a digital channel that handpicks films for kids?
Saving Amelia, one of the latest additions on the platform, narrates the story of two contentious sisters - Anna and Miriam - who find an old two-way radio in their attic. The finding becomes a great secret hidden in an unlikely place when they realise that the radio can mysteriously communicate with the past. The sisters are put in touch with pathbreaking aviator Amelia Earhart hours before the transmission of her ill-fated flight. Will the sisters be able to save her? Sairah found the premise for the film distinctively unique: "I could relate with the little girls. They are my age, and are on this chance mission to save Earhart, a personality I read about in the series, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls." Her father adds that she didn't look here and there or want to pause in between. "She was glued to the screen. A film on a figure she has been previously inspired by could be the reason. I watched the movie with her and noticed the social, cultural and emotional values that are particularly vital for kid-centric content," he says.
Ankit is eager for his daughter to participate in film discussion sessions hosted by Cornucopia so that she can learn to read visual images, too. Aware of her knack for critical thinking, we ask the young reviewer if there's something about Saving Amelia that could have been better. She pauses for a moment before sharing, "Nothing at all. It is something I will recommend to my friends and juniors."
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AGE GROUP: 6 to 12 years
TYPE: Film
PRICE: Free
RATING: 4/4
LOG ON: youtube.com/c/CORNUCOPIAPICTURES