Cinemira Budapest International Children's Film Festival 2023

Event Description:

Cinemira International Children's and Youth Film Festival is designed for professionals who are creating films for young audiences. It takes place in the center of beautiful and exciting Budapest in the autumn. Every year Cinemira organizes the Writer+Director Meetup, where authors of the most successful contemporary children's book present their stories to filmmakers. Cinemira is an interactive film festival, and for that, there are animation, filmmaking, make-up, stunt, dance choreography, and casting workshops for children and their families. Cinemira launches a market where you can find the best books, comics, and posters related to children's films. Behind the festival, there is the team of the Hungarian Children's Film Academy that develops workshops for children aged 10-18 in the areas of film, television, and new media throughout the year and also produces films for children. Cinemira is a member of the European Children's Film Association (ECFA).

2023 Call for Entries

The 5th Cinemira TEEN will take place on 14-15 October 2023, and Cinemira KIDS will take place on 21-22 October 2023. Cinemira organizes an Industry Forum day on October 13th where it presents a Pitch Forum for TV series and film projects for young audiences. Also, internationally acclaimed professionals are invited to give lectures on how to create relevant content for children. 

Eligibility criteria:

• Only works with a release date after January 1, 2022, will be allowed to participate in the competitive sections.
• Cinemira KIDS: Short films of up to a maximum of 10 or 15 minutes in length can participate in the competitions in the KIDS section.
• Cinemira TEEN: short films of a maximum of 30 minutes in length can participate in the competitions in the TEEN section.

Competition sections:

• International Competition of Short Animated films for Children (separately for 4-6,7-9, 10-14 years old)
• International Competition of Short Live-action films for Children (separately for 7-9, 10-14 years old)
• International Competition of Short Animated Films for Teens (14-19 years old)
• International Competition of Short Live-Action Films for Teens (14-19 years old)
• National competition of best screenplay for children
• National competition of best series script for children and youth
• National competition of films made by high school children

Panorama sections:

• Outstanding international Feature-length film for children (BY INVITATION ONLY)
• Retrospective Hungarian films

10 films will be selected for each category in the competition section.

Awards:

Main Awards (Golden squirrel)

Best short fiction for children (international)
Best short animation for children (international)
Children's Jury Award for best short Hungarian children's film (national)

Best short fiction for TEEN (international)
Best short animation for TEEN (international)
Youth Jury Award for best short Hungarian film for TEENS (national)

ECFA short film Award (international)

The best film made by high school students (national)

Best Script - Cinemira Film Pitch Award (national)
Best Script - Cinemira Junior Film Pitch Award (national)

In 2022, the Festival awarded a total of nearly 3,000 euros in prize money in 3 competitions.

• Festival Regulations and submission via FilmFreeway
• Deadline: 15 March 2023 (early bird), 23 April 2023 (regular), 31 May 2023 (last-minute deadline)
• Fees: required