Lights, camera and action: Film festivals for children and youth

Film festivals aimed at children and young people regularly take place all over the world. Festivals have varied objectives, while some editions are intended to broadcast productions made by children and young people, others are dedicated to creating specific programs based on a central theme, as well as enabling access to films that are not broadcasted by large networks and movie theaters. Among the festivals, we selected some examples:

In the city of Porto, between the 22nd and 28th of January 2024, it was held the 8th edition of IndieJúnior – International Children and Youth Film Festival (www.indiejunior.com)  whose selection of films had Freedom as its central theme.

PLAY – Lisbon International Children and Youth Film Festival (www.playfest.pt) is organized in Lisbon. In 2023, the festival reached its tenth edition and brought together more than 150 productions dedicated to children and young people. Between February 24th and March 3rd this year the 11th edition will take place. The complete program is available on the festival website.

The 64th edition of the ZLÍN International Film Festival for Children and Youth (www.zlinfest.cz) in the Czech Republic will take place between May 30th and June 5th. Over the course of the festival, more than 300 productions from 50 countries around the world are shown. For those interested in submitting films, documentaries or short films, registration is open until March 1st.

The 43rd edition of the Oulu Film Festival (www.oulufilmfestival.fi) will take place between the 18th and 24th of November in Finland. Entries are open and the different categories for participation are availabre at Oulu-s website: 1) Children’s Film Competition; 2) Youth Film Competition; 3) Finnish Competition; 4) Best European Children’s Film and 5) Best European Children’s Short Film, in addition to being able to explore the content of previous editions.

In Hungary, the Cinemira Budapest International Children’s and Youth Film Festival will take place between the 16th and 20th of October. The event is aimed at directors, producers and content creators aimed at children and young people. Registration can be made between March 15th and June 20th (www.filmfreeway.com/Cinemira).

While the European Youth Film Festival of Flanders (www.jeugdfilmfestival.be) is an annually event  that takes place in Antwerp and Bruges (Belgium). The 2024 edition was between the 4th and 18th of February.

 

 

 

[Image by Unsplash]

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