CICFF Home
ACT NOW! Only 4 weeks left to enter as Final Deadline approaches for film submissions!
Final Deadline, May 31st.
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival to celebrate its 25th Anniversary!
October 23-November 2, 2008
The CICFF is North America's largest and most celebrated film festival devoted to films for and by kids, and it's the only Academy®-qualifying children's film festival in the world! (That means our winners in the short film category can go on to compete for the Oscars®!
This year, "Cannes for Kids" features over 200 of the best films and videos for kids from 40 countries. The Festival welcomes over 26,000 Chicago area children, adults, and educators to hundreds of screenings. More than 100 filmmakers, media professionals & celebrities attend the Festival to lead interactive workshops with kids.
The CICFF Announces The Poetry Foundation, $10,000 Prize for 2008!
Excellence in the arts of poetry and film will be honored through the presentation of a cash prize for the best film based on a poem or directly inspired by a poet or poem. The Poetry Foundation Prize will be awarded to a filmmaker whose use of verse in film opens new artistic vistas and inspires children to a lifelong engagement with and appreciation for poetry. This unique competition was created to encourage filmmakers around the world to incorporate poetry into their productions. Both animated and live action films will be eligible to compete for the Poetry Foundation prize and a special jury will be convened during the summer of 2008 to determine the award winner. The prize will be awarded to the film that truly captures, reflects and expresses the spirit of poetry in film for young audiences.
What is the Chicago International Children's Film Festival?
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF) is the largest festival of films for children in North America features over 200 films from 40 countries and screens a wide range of projects from live action and animated features, to shorts, TV series, documentaries, and child-produced works. One of the most unique festivals in the country, showcasing the best in culturally diverse, non-violent, value affirming new cinema for children, the CICFF is the only children's film festival to be an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival.
Welcoming 25,000 Chicago area children, adults, and educators each year, over 140 filmmakers, media professionals & celebrities attend the Festival to lead interactive workshops with kids. Interactive workshops comprise an important part of the CICFF's mission to make media a participatory rather than a passive experience. Past attendees include: Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Scull), LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jane Seymour (Wedding Crashers), Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters), Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter); Terry Jones (Monty Python's Flying Circus); and film critic Roger Ebert.
Throughout the year, the Festival organizes several media education programs for children, educators and parents including: Young Chicago Critics, teaching children film theory and aesthetics, basic production skills, as well as written and verbal critique; MediaBridge, teaching youth ages 15-19 film programming and screenwriting; CineStudy professional development workshops for teachers & parents; and Take One! Workshops, series of master classes in various aspects of film production and film theory.
For more than 30 years, the Chicago International Children's Film Festival has set new standards for what children's festivals can achieve. As the largest and longest running children's film program in North America, the CICFF discovers the best in world cinema by continually raising the bar for quality children's programming.
