New York International Childrens Film Festival 2025

Festival Description: NYICFF is about great films (and filmmakers) that inspire, surprise, delight, and challenge audiences of all ages and is a globally recognized, sought-after Oscar®-qualifying Festival.  Filmmakers can expect expert curation, personal attention, care, and respect for one’s artistry, along with a genuine desire to further, as NYICFF’s mission states, a more intelligent, and diverse, film culture for kids. Over the course of one-month next spring, the Festival will feature tastemaker screenings, filmmaker forums, receptions, and thought-provoking Q&A’s – in theatres across New York City and virtually into attendees' homes. Engaging and inspiring audiences of all ages, the film programs from NYICFF provide an opportunity to network with industry leaders; films are judged by a world-class jury and seen by an audience that appreciates innovative content. NYICFF’s 2021 Jury members were: Melissa Cobb, Sofia Coppola, Geena Davis, Madeleine Di Nonno, Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Matthew Modine, Mark Osborne, Peter Ramsey, Karen Rupert Toliver, Ira Sachs, Uma Thurman, and Nora Twomey.

2025 Call For Entries 

The 27th New York International Children's Film Festival will take place from 2 to 16 March 2025.

Eligibility criteria:

To be eligible to screen in competition, production must be completed no later than January 1, 2025. NYICFF designates “short films” as works with a running time of less than 40 minutes in length. Works with running times of 40 minutes or longer are designated as “feature films.

Awards:

Jury Awards (Oscar-qualifying)
- Best Animated Short Film
- Best Live Action Short Film
Audience Awards for Best Short Film
- Ages 3+
- Ages 3+
- Ages 6+
- Ages 8+
- Ages 10+
- Ages 12+
- Grown ups (18+)

NYICFF is an Academy®-qualifying festival. Recipients of the NYICFF jury prizes are eligible for consideration in the Live Action Short and Animated Short Film categories of the Annual Academy Awards®.

• Festival Regulations and FilmFreeway Entry Form
• Deadlines: 15 October 2024 (regular), 15 November 2024 (late), 15 December 2024 (extended)