Overview
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF) is the largest children's film festival in North America. Founded in 1983 and operated by FACETS, the festival programs approximately 250 films from 40+ countries for audiences ages 2 to 18, with an annual attendance of roughly 23,000 viewers. CICFF is an Academy Award-qualifying festival, making it one of the few children's film festivals with direct Oscar eligibility pathways for short films.
The 40th edition ran November 3 to 19, 2023. FACETS paused the festival for 2024 to conduct a strategic evaluation and restructure its youth programming. The festival returned with its 42nd edition November 3 to 19, 2025, with submissions accepted via FilmFreeway.
CICFF operates through FACETS, a Chicago-based independent cinema organization that also runs a 50,000-title film lending library, year-round youth programs, and venue rentals at its location at 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue. This infrastructure gives the children's festival organizational depth that standalone festivals lack.
Children's cinema is a distinct international genre. Countries including Japan, France, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands produce films for young audiences that match adult art cinema in ambition and craft. CICFF provides North American exposure for this international tradition, programming films that would otherwise have no US distribution path.
Submission Details
CICFF accepts submissions through FilmFreeway. Key details for the 2025 festival (42nd edition):
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Festival Dates (2025) | November 3 to 19, 2025 |
| Early Deadline | May 1, 2025 |
| Regular Deadline | June 19, 2025 |
| Submission Platform | FilmFreeway |
| Films Made by Youth (18 and under) | No submission fee |
Submission fees for the 2023 edition (most recent confirmed rates):
| Category | Early Deadline | Regular Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Short Film (under 40 min) | $40 USD | $60 USD |
| Feature Film (40+ min) | $80 USD | $100 USD |
FilmFreeway Gold Members received a 10% discount on all submissions. Fee waivers are available on a case-by-case basis - contact FACETS Youth Programs Coordinator at filmreg@facets.org. Films made by young people 18 and under are submitted free of charge. Verify current fees on the CICFF FilmFreeway page before submitting.
Eligibility Requirements
- Films must be appropriate for young audiences (ages 2 to 18+).
- CICFF accepts both adult-produced films and films made by children and youth.
- Categories include live action, animation, documentary, and experimental work.
- Films from all countries are eligible.
- English subtitles are required for non-English films.
- The festival programs both competitive and non-competitive sections.
Competition Sections
- International Feature Competition - narrative features for children competing for jury prizes
- Short Film Competition - short films for young audiences (Academy Award-qualifying)
- Animation Competition - animated films for children across age categories
- Documentary Program - nonfiction films appropriate for young audiences
- Youth-Produced Film Program - films made by filmmakers 18 and under
- My First Movies - short film programs designed for very young children (ages 2 to 5)
Awards and Prizes
CICFF presents jury and audience awards. The festival's Academy Award-qualifying status means that winning the qualifying short film award makes the film eligible for Oscar submission.
- Best Feature for Children - adult jury prize
- Best Short Film for Children - adult jury prize (Academy Award-qualifying)
- Children's Jury Award - voted by young audience members who participate as jurors
- Audience Award - voted by festival attendees across all screenings
- Youth Jury Award - films evaluated by peer jurors in the youth-produced category
The Children's Jury is a distinctive element. Films in qualifying categories are evaluated by young audience members who participate in a structured jury process, meaning films are assessed by their actual intended audience rather than only by adult programmers.
Past Winners
CICFF presents jury and audience awards across multiple categories. Recent winners include:
- 2023 Professional Jury Best Animated Feature: A Greyhound of a Girl, directed by Enzo d'Alò. An animated adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel about four generations of women, the film premiered at the Berlinale Generation section before screening at CICFF.
- 2023 Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award: Boat People, a film addressing the global refugee experience through a children's lens.
- 2023 Children's Jury Best Live-Action Feature: Coco Farm.
- 2022 Best of the Fest: Rickshaw Girl, directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury. A Bangladesh-US co-production about a teenage girl who disguises herself as a boy to drive a rickshaw. The film later streamed on Netflix.
- 2022 Youth Jury Best Animated Short: Ice Merchants, directed by Joao Gonzalez. The film went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Oscars, the first Portuguese animation ever nominated.
- 2022 Milos Stehlik Global Impact Award: More Than I Want To Remember, a documentary about memory and identity.
- 2021 Children's Jury Best Live-Action Feature: Beans, directed by Tracey Deer. The film about a Mohawk girl during the 1990 Oka crisis later screened at festivals worldwide.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
CICFF has served as a launchpad for children's films that went on to wider recognition:
- Ice Merchants (2022) - won the Youth Jury Best Animated Short at CICFF, then won the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, premiered at Cannes Critics' Week, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short at the 95th Oscars.
- The Gruffalo (2009) - won the Best of Fest Award at CICFF, then earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short. The film premiered on BBC One Christmas Day 2009 to 10 million viewers and continues to stream on Netflix.
- The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011) - won the Adult Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at CICFF, then won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 84th Oscars.
- Rickshaw Girl (2022) - won Best of the Fest at CICFF and later streamed on Netflix, reaching a global audience.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
CICFF is the most important North American competitive platform for international children's cinema. If you have made a film for young audiences, this festival offers the strongest combination of Academy Award qualification, international exposure, and industry recognition in the children's film sector.
The free submission category for youth-produced films (filmmakers 18 and under) makes CICFF accessible to student and young filmmaker submissions without financial barriers. If you are an educator or youth program coordinator, this is a viable submission target for student work.
The Children's Jury is a distinctive element. Films in qualifying categories are evaluated by young audience members who participate in a structured jury process, meaning films are assessed by their actual intended audience rather than only by adult programmers. Filmmakers should consider how their film plays to children, not just to adult gatekeepers.
The 2024 pause and strategic restructuring means the festival's format and programming direction may have shifted under new leadership. Check the FACETS website for the most current information on sections, venues, and programming focus before submitting.
The festival's hands-on filmmaking workshops and post-screening Q&A sessions with filmmakers create additional engagement opportunities. These are not standard at most film festivals and can be valuable for filmmakers seeking direct audience interaction.
Industry Reputation Notes
CICFF is the largest children's film festival in North America. In the children's festival landscape, it occupies a different position than the New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) or Germany's Schlingel International Film Festival. NYICFF, operated by NYICFF Productions, focuses more on theatrical distribution of children's films and has a stronger commercial orientation. Schlingel, held in Chemnitz, is the larger European children's festival with a broader competition structure. CICFF's advantage is its Academy Award-qualifying status for short films, which places it among a small number of US festivals with direct Oscar eligibility for children's cinema.
The festival's connection to FACETS, which operates a 50,000-title film lending library and year-round youth programs, gives it organizational depth that standalone festivals lack. However, the 2024 pause raised questions about the festival's operational stability. The 2025 return (42nd edition) signaled a commitment to continuity, but filmmakers should verify current programming details before submitting.
Festival History
CICFF was founded in 1983 by FACETS, a Chicago independent cinema organization established in 1975. The festival grew over four decades into the largest children's film festival in North America, programming 250 films from 40 countries annually and welcoming 23,000 attendees.
The 40th anniversary edition in November 2023 was the last festival before FACETS announced a pause for 2024. The organization used the pause to conduct a strategic evaluation of its youth programs and restructure its festival operations. FACETS stated the pause would result in "a new vision for the festival and all youth programs, to be rolled out in 2025."
The festival returned with its 42nd edition in November 2025. CICFF has historically been an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films, placing it among a small number of US festivals with direct Oscar eligibility for children's cinema.
Watch
See Also
Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. For animation festivals, see Ottawa International Animation Festival. For festival circuit strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. Submit through the CICFF FilmFreeway page.
