New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) is an annual Oscar-qualifying film festival (since 2011) with a mission rooted in the belief that film acts as a path for young people to understand themselves and others. All programs are designed to celebrate the beauty and power of film, spark the inherent capacity of children to connect with complex, nuanced art, and encourage the creation of intelligent films that represent and celebrate unique, diverse, and historically excluded voices. NYICFF serves children, students, families, educators, filmmakers, and media arts professionals through its three core activities: the annual, Oscar®-qualifying NYC film festival^[1] and national touring program^[2]; FilmEd^[3], a media arts and literacy program; and Toward an Inclusive Future^[4], an annual industry forum.

The flagship New York City Festival has grown from one weekend of films into the largest film festival for children and teens in North America. Screened over the course of four weeks at venues throughout NYC, the Festival program – narrowed down from roughly 2,500 international submissions – consists of approximately 100 short and feature films, filmmaker Q&As, retrospective programs, parties, and premieres. Audience members of all ages vote on the Festival-winning films. The New York Times has covered the New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) in recent years, including articles on the 2023 festival, the 2024 festival, and the 2025 festival. In 2023, they highlighted the festival in "Growing a Generation of Movie-Loving Global Citizens," followed by a piece on the 2024 festival called "Children's Film Festival Has Robots, Chickens, Authors, and More." Most recently, they covered the 2025 festival with "At the Children’s Film Festival, Unstoppable Heroines."

The Festival Jury comprises filmmakers, actors, and academic and industry leaders who are committed to recognizing and supporting the best in innovative, diverse, and artistically excellent film for young audiences throughout the globe.^[5] Jurors select the winners of the Festival’s Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short. The Festival is an Academy®-qualifying event. Winners of our juried awards are eligible for Academy® consideration in the Best Live Action and Best Animated Short Film categories.^[6]

NYICFF's National Touring program brings fun, artful, inspired and thought-provoking film programs to venues or organizations with their curated collections of NYICFF award-winning and audience favorite short films. Lively collections of short animation, live action, and documentary films reflect NYICFF’s commitment to storytelling and diversity and are sure to spark meaningful conversations. All programs are available to book individually or as a package, and NYICFF provides all assets and marketing materials.^[7]

FilmEd Classroom is a film-based K-8 curriculum designed to provide meaningful arts engagement, support media-literacy, and hone critical-thinking skills. Schools can find free films and learning materials to lead meaningful conversations and arts experiences with K-8 students. FilmEd’s inaugural theme is Identity, and additional FilmEd materials and expanded themes are released throughout the school year. Each Lesson Plan includes theme-based, grade-appropriate short films to watch along with teaching materials, which be adapted for younger or older grades.^[8]

NYICFF advocates for a more diverse and inclusive world for kids on screen. In 2020 they raised the call behind the scenes and launched our industry initiative, Toward an Inclusive Future, to jumpstart actionable conversations among experienced and rising creators of media and entertainment for kids. The 2023 Industry Forum was a two-part series of exciting, community conversations to celebrate, support, and expand the children’s media field toward a more inclusive future. NYICFF alumni filmmakers and partnering organizations offered creative inspiration and practical takeaway for industry leaders, aspiring filmmakers and creatives, students, culture workers, and educators. This free NYICFF event was designed specifically for current university students and recent graduates and was created to both ensure and demonstrate the value of a diverse and culturally inclusive workforce from idea to audience.^[9]

NYICFF was founded in 1997 by Eric Beckman and Emily Shapiro.