01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 15, 2004

BY BRYAN ROURKE
Journal Staff Writer

Kids are the stars at the Flying Popcorn! International Children's Film Festival, which occurs Saturday as part of the Newport Kids Fest.

The film festival, now in its second year, features 18 films made for kids, and, largely, made by kids. More than half of the films, which range from animation (Ergophobia) to documentary (Living in the Projects) to dramatic spoof (James Bombed) were made by kids. And that, according to Eleyne Austen Sharpe, the film festival's founder, will encourage other kids.

"Kids sitting in the audience will think, 'I can do that,' " Sharp says. "In a lot of cases it doesn't look that difficult, but it is. It interests children in using their imaginations."

Sharp is the executive director of Kid Filmmakers, a two-year-old organization that introduces children, aged 7 to 17, to the myriad aspects of making movies.

"These are extremely creative films coming from children's minds," Sharp says. "They write their own scripts, and it's incredible what they come up with."

The festival's movies are all short, ranging from 1 minute and 43 seconds to 14 minutes and 10 seconds. These are the same films featured in last year's children's film festival, which was held at a Providence theater. New films are being reviewed now for next year's festival.

"Steven Spielberg, I'm sure, didn't know much about films as a child," Sharp says. "But he watched movies. That's what encourages kids from the beginning."

For kids who'd like their film education to involve more than just watching movies, a workshop involving children acting and directing a scene from a Harry Potter movie precedes the Flying Popcorn! International Children's Film Festival.

"They shouldn't throw popcorn at the screen," Sharp says. "We have to clean up afterward."

The Flying Popcorn! International Children's Film Festival is 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday in the Brenton Room of the Newport Hyatt on Goat Island. Tickets are $5 with a Newport Kids Fest Passport and $8 without. For reservations or more information, (401) 846-9884.

The film making workshop is in the Brenton Room, noon to 3 p.m. It costs $1 with a NKF Passport, $5 without.

NKF Passports cost $10, $35 for a family of four, and are free for children 3 and younger. They're available at www.newportforkidsandfamilies.com; in Newport at Totally Tots, 703 Thames St., Gentle Jungle at Bowen's Wharf, Newport Hyatt Hotel, the Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina, 49 America's Cup Ave., Newport County Visitors Center, 23 America's Cup Ave., and at various Fairfield Resorts locations.

They're also available in Middletown at Island Books, 575 East Main Road, and Howard Johnson's, 351 West Main Road; and in Portsmouth at Clement's Market, 2575 East Main Rd.

Here's the rest of this weekend's schedule:

THURSDAY:

Arts Program, List Academy of Music and Arts, 50 Harrison Ave. 846-0572. Crafts, music, drama for ages 4-10. 11 am-2 pm. $30, $25 with NKF Passport.

Dino-Mech Workshop, Pow! Science!, 1341 West Main Rd., Middletown. Ages 8+ build and take home a mechanical dinosaur that really walks. 11 am-4:30 pm. $41 includes kit, snack; $37 with NKF Passport.

Learn to Make a Pizza, Rocco's Little Italy, 124 Broadway. 11 am-4 pm. $7.99, $4.99 with NKF Passport.

--FREE-- Live Jazz for Kids Program, with Tish Adams, Greenvale Vineyards, 582 Wapping Rd., Portsmouth. 1-4 pm.

Story Time and Book Signing, Wyatt Square, 575 East Main Rd., Middletown. Author Muriel Barlay de Tolley reads from her books, Where's Puma? and Puma Lost in Newport. 1 pm.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY:

Seal Safari with Oldport Marine. One-hour tour aboard the Patriot searching for seals. Departs Oldport Marina, Sayer's Wharf. Thu-Sat 10:30-11:30 am, Sun 11 am-1 pm. $15, children $13; $13, children $11 with Newport Kids Fest Passport.

FRIDAY:

Newport 101 Colonial Costumed Tours, Newport Visitor Center, 23 America's Cup Ave. For families; less than one mile, stroller friendly; each child receives a gift at each stop. $10, children without NKF Passport $5. Buy one, get one free with with NKF Passport.

Book Signing and Lecture, Island Books, Wyatt Square, 575 East Main Rd., Middletown. Author Bob Holtzman signs and discusses his new field guide and coloring book, Boats and Ships of Rhode Island: Your Field Guide. For ages 4-9. 1:30 pm.

SATURDAY:

Baseball Clinic with Sam Horn, Newport Hyatt Regency. Batting, baserunning and wiffle game with Horn, formerly of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. For ages 8-12. Advance, limited registration. $40, $35 with NKF Passport.

Day of Magic with Lon Cerel, Newport Hyatt, Brenton Room, 1 Goat Island. 845-6608. Magic workshops: Hocus, Focus lets kids operate a video camera, perform short scenes from famous movies and learn animation magic. Noon-3 pm. $4, free with with NKF Passport. Performances by magician Lon Cerel. Show for younger families, 6:30-7:15 pm; older families, 7:30-8:15 pm. $8, $5 with NKF Passport.

Lantern-Lit Ghost Tours of Newport. Start at the Newport Marriott outside their Fathoms Restaurant, America's Cup Avenue. 8 pm. $18, children $13, $15, children $10 with NKF Passport.

Tunes-n-Tales on the Rails, with Engineer Annie, Newport Dinner Train, 19 America's Cup Ave. 11:45 am. Reservations recommended, mention NKF Passport. $14.95, children 10 and under $7.95; one child free with with adult and child NKF Passport.

--FREE-- Woodcarving Demonstration, Brick Market Courtyard. Watch artist turn four-foot logs into pieces of art using chainsaws, chisels and other equipment. Fri 5 pm; Sat 11 am, 2, 5 pm.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY:

Fort Adams Tours, Fort Adams, Harrison. Noon-3 pm. $6, ages 12-18 $5, ages 5-11 $3, family $13; with NKF Passport $5, $4, $2, $12.

--FREE-- Games Workshop and Figure Painting, Newport Hobby House, 146 Broadway. 10 am-5 pm. $5; free with NKF Passport.

Maritime Fair, Museum of Yachting, Fort Adams, Harrison Avenue. Tent and lawn of maritime activities including model boat building, decorating and sailing, lobster racing, knot tying. Professionals from the Museum of Yachting, Sail Newport, American Sail Training, lobstermen, fishermen, Save the Bay and other maritime organizations demonstrate and provide workshops on navigation, fishing and casting, yacht design, weather and more. Presentations on sail training, semester at sea programs, U.S. Coast Guard safety and a new field guide entitled, Boats and Ships of Rhode Island. Sat 10 am-4 pm, Sun 1-4 pm. $6, free with NKF Passport.

Personalities -- Duck Pond, Swinburne Row, Brick Market Place. Choose a duck to win prizes. 10 am-5 pm. $2, $1 with NKF Passport.