Giffoni Film Festival

Overview

The Giffoni Film Festival (GFF) is the world's leading film festival for children and youth. The 56th edition runs July 17 to 25, 2026, in Giffoni Valle Piana, a small town near Salerno in Campania, southern Italy. The festival's defining principle is that children and young people are capable of serious film criticism, and that the most honest judges of films made for young audiences are young people themselves. Every jury at Giffoni is composed entirely of young people organized into age groups.

The 55th edition in 2025 drew over 5,000 young jurors from 30 countries who voted on films selected from more than 2,500 submissions worldwide. The festival's competition sections span ages 3 to 26, with separate juries for each age group. The jurors watch films, discuss them in structured sessions, and vote for the Gryphon Award winners.

The 55th edition's Gryphon Award winners included Super Charlie (dir. Jon Holmberg, Sweden/Denmark) in Elements +6, Honey (dir. Natasha Arthy, Denmark) in Elements +10, Wolfgang (dir. Javier Ruiz Caldera, Spain) in Generator +13, Isle Child (dir. Thomas Percy Kim, South Korea/USA) in Generator +16, Kneecap (dir. Rich Peppiatt, Ireland/UK) in Generator +18, and Cutting Through Rocks (dir. Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, Iran/Netherlands/USA) in GEX Doc. The 2025 edition was the last under the guidance of founder Claudio Gubitosi.

GFF is not Academy Award-qualifying. Its value to filmmakers lies in direct audience feedback from the target demographic: if you make films for children or young audiences, Giffoni provides access to thousands of young viewers who will judge your work with genuine engagement rather than adult-mediated interpretation.

Submission Details

GFF accepts submissions through its website platform and FilmFreeway. The Competition Film Regulations for the 56th edition specify:

Submission deadline: May 11, 2026

Eligibility requirements:

• Only films produced from January 2025 or released from June 2025 will be considered for selection
• Priority given to unreleased films
• For feature-length films (including GEX Doc documentaries): the film's presentation at any other Italian film festival, its theatrical release, or broadcasting on television/internet/VOD in Italy will result in exclusion from the Giffoni Film Festival
• Short films: maximum 30 minutes runtime
• Feature-length films: minimum 60 minutes runtime
• Films must be submitted with English subtitles (no subtitles required for Italian films)
• Selection results communicated exclusively to production and distribution companies of selected films by June 15, 2026

Submission fees:

• Fees vary by competition section (see FilmFreeway for current rates per section)
• Fees are non-refundable once paid
• The festival does not charge for admission to the pre-selection phase

Screening requirements for selected films:

• Files for official screening must be sent via FTP, Aspera link, or Dropbox (no Google Drive) no later than 7 days before the festival begins
• Required materials: online screener with English subtitles, entry form (completed on FilmFreeway), director biography and filmography, director's notes, complete English subtitle list in SRT format, photos from the film, poster, trailer (maximum 2 minutes for features, 30 seconds for shorts)
• Production company must authorize broadcast of maximum 2 minutes of scenes (30 seconds for shorts) on national and international television for promotional purposes

Key Sections

• Elements +3 - competitive section for short animation films, jury of approximately 250 children
• Elements +6 - competitive section for feature-length films and short films (fiction and animation), jury of approximately 1,000 children
• Elements +10 - competitive section for feature-length films and short films (fiction and animation), jury of approximately 1,000 children
• Generator +13 - competitive section for feature-length films (fiction and animation), jury of approximately 600 teenagers from around the world
• Generator +15 (also listed as Generator +16) - competitive section for feature-length films (fiction and animation), jury of approximately 600 teenagers from around the world
• Generator +18 - competitive section for feature films about childhood targeting older audiences, jury of approximately 250 young adults
• GEX Doc - competitive section for feature-length documentaries on childhood and adolescence targeting older audiences, jury composed of audience participants
• Parental Experience - competitive section for short films about childhood targeting older audiences, jury composed of parents

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Filmmakers Creating Films for Young Audiences

Giffoni offers direct access to your target demographic as critics. If you make a film for children aged 6 to 12, the Elements +6 or Elements +10 jury of 1,000 children will watch, discuss, and vote on your film. If you make a film for teenagers, the Generator +13 or +15 jury of 600 teenagers from 30 countries provides international teen audience feedback. No other festival offers this scale of young audience engagement.

A Gryphon Award from Giffoni carries the endorsement of thousands of young international jurors. This is uniquely authentic as a measure of genuine youth audience engagement, unlike adult jury prizes at youth-focused festivals where the selection is mediated by grown-ups.

Premiere Requirements

For feature-length films, the Italian premiere requirement is strict. If your film has screened at any other Italian festival, had a theatrical release in Italy, or been broadcast on television or internet/VOD in Italy, it is excluded from Giffoni. This means you should plan your Italian festival strategy carefully: Giffoni should be your first Italian festival stop for features if you want competition eligibility.

Short films do not face the same strict Italian premiere requirement as features, but priority is given to unreleased films across all categories.

Submission Strategy

The festival selects from over 2,500 submissions annually across all sections. The submission fee varies by section and is non-refundable. The deadline of May 11, 2026, is relatively early compared to other European summer festivals, so plan accordingly. Selection results are communicated by June 15, 2026, giving selected filmmakers approximately one month to prepare screening materials.

The festival covers shipping expenses for selected films (from production/distribution companies only, not from other festivals) and provides insurance coverage while films are in storage at the festival. The festival also saves a digital copy in its Historical Archive for internal and study purposes only, with no commercial use.

For Italian Filmmakers

Giffoni is one of Italy's most internationally recognized film festivals, and its location in Campania (southern Italy) gives it a regional significance beyond its specialty focus. The festival has received endorsements from Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and numerous major filmmakers. For Italian filmmakers working in children's or youth content, Giffoni is the primary national and international platform.

Major Awards

Gryphon Award (Best Film)

• Elements +3 - Best Short Animation Film (awarded by jury of approximately 250 children)
• Elements +6 - Best Feature Film and Best Short Film (awarded by jury of approximately 1,000 children)
• Elements +10 - Best Feature Film and Best Short Film (awarded by jury of approximately 1,000 children)
• Generator +13 - Best Feature Film (awarded by jury of approximately 600 teenagers)
• Generator +15/+16 - Best Feature Film (awarded by jury of approximately 600 teenagers)
• Generator +18 - Best Feature Film (awarded by jury of approximately 250 young adults)
• GEX Doc - Best Documentary (awarded by audience jury)
• Parental Experience - Best Short Film (awarded by parent jury)

Additional Awards

• Best Cinematography - Gaetano Del Mauro Memorial Award
• CONAI Award - Best Environmental Film
• Acea Award
• Lete Award
• Tommy Hilfiger Special Award
• Enel Special Award
• Terna Special Award
• CGS - Percorsi Creativi Award (for Generator +13 and Generator +16)

55th Edition (2025) Key Winners

• Elements +3 Gryphon Award (Short): The Goldfish (dir. Gisella Gobbi, Italy)
• Elements +6 Gryphon Award (Feature): Super Charlie (dir. Jon Holmberg, Sweden/Denmark)
• Elements +6 Gryphon Award (Short): Carmen and the Wooden Spoon (dir. Carlos Gomez-Mira Sagrado, Spain)
• Elements +10 Gryphon Award (Feature): Honey (dir. Natasha Arthy, Denmark)
• Elements +10 Gryphon Award (Short): Marta vuole giocare (dir. Matteo Quarta, Italy)
• Generator +13 Gryphon Award: Wolfgang (dir. Javier Ruiz Caldera, Spain)
• Generator +16 Gryphon Award: Isle Child (dir. Thomas Percy Kim, South Korea/USA)
• Generator +18 Gryphon Award: Kneecap (dir. Rich Peppiatt, Ireland/UK)
• GEX Doc Gryphon Award: Cutting Through Rocks (dir. Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni, Iran/Netherlands/USA/Germany/Qatar/Chile/Canada)
• Parental Experience Gryphon Award: Worms (dir. Domenico Distilo, Italy)
• Best Cinematography: Promise I'll Be Fine (dir. Katarina Gramatova, Slovakia/Czech Republic)

Festival History

Giffoni was founded in 1971 by Claudio Gubitosi, who remained the festival's driving force through its 55th edition in 2025. The festival began as a small community event in Giffoni Valle Piana, a town of approximately 12,000 people in the province of Salerno. Gubitosi's founding premise was radical for 1971: that children and young people could be serious film critics, and that films for young audiences should be judged by young audiences themselves.

The festival grew from a few hundred local children in its early years to over 5,000 young jurors from 30 countries in 2025. This growth happened without relocating: the festival built its infrastructure in Giffoni Valle Piana itself, constructing the Cittadella del Cinema (Cinema Citadel), a dedicated festival complex that hosts the annual event and year-round educational activities.

The 55th edition in 2025 was the last under Gubitosi's direct leadership, marking a transition for the festival. The festival has been endorsed by UNICEF and received support from major filmmakers including Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, who have visited the festival and publicly recognized its contribution to building cinema literacy among young audiences worldwide.

Giffoni's influence extends beyond its annual festival. The organization runs year-round programs in film education for young people, and the Giffoni Experience brand has been exported to other locations through satellite events. The festival's model of youth juries has been adopted by other children's film festivals internationally, though Giffoni remains the largest and most established.

See Also

For children's and family film festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For youth cinema and distribution, see International Film Markets. To calculate the financial return of festival submissions, see the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, another major youth-focused festival, see Chicago International Children's Film Festival. For Alice nella Citta, the Rome-based children's film section, see Alice nella Citta.