What we do

Cinekid Festival is the world’s largest festival for children’s film and media. It takes place during the autumn holiday at the main location in Amsterdam as well as 40 other locations throughout the Netherlands. The festival inspires children aged between 3 and 14 years with the best Dutch and international films, series, and media. Visitors even get to meet the filmmakers themselves!

Interaction with the latest films and media
Cinekid Festival’s unique programme lets children experience the very best films and media. They’ll be the first to see the latest children’s films and series from across the globe, put their questions to directors, and make their very own media in masterclasses guided by professional filmmakers.

Pioneering on-screen stories
Cinekid shows on-screen stories that straddle a whole range of boundaries: nations, cultures, genres, presentation and production styles, form, and more. The festival focuses just as much on feature films, animation films, series, and documentaries as it does on AR, VR, AI, immersive films, and story-driven games. Everything is geared towards children’s real-life experiences and encounters.

Prominent awards
Cinekid Festival screens the premieres of the latest Dutch and international children’s films and series. All of them also compete for the leading international prizes in film, series, and new media for children awarded at the festival, such as Best Children’s Film, Best Dutch Children’s Film, and Best International Short Animation.

Media testing ground
Covering 1000 square metres and packed with the latest installations, games, and workshops by renowned artists and emerging talent, the festival’s MediaLab lets children discover the latest innovative media and other technologies. Young visitors can experiment with VR, AR, and AI in the MediaLab’s cutting-edge digital installations.

Input from children
Cinekid is unique in the way it involves children at all stages of the programme. As participants in Q&A and feedback sessions, giving unapologetic yet endearing responses that inspire filmmakers. As one of twenty Junior Crew members aged between 7 and 12, helping to select films, series, and games. As members of the youth jury, selecting the best youth film. And as young presenters, hosting pre-screening introductions and post-screening discussions. Children are even part of the talent development programmes for professionals and provide feedback during the Ask your Audience sessions.

Cinekid supports the entire chain of children’s film and media from production to screening. That’s why a major part of Cinekid’s work is Cinekid for Professionals, the 4-day event for children’s film and media professionals. Cinekid for Professionals takes place during Cinekid Festival, the world’s largest festival for children’s film and media.

Knowledge sharing
Cinekid for Professionals coincides with the Industry Forum, the leading conference for children’s film and media professionals. Featuring inspiring speakers who share their knowledge and experience, the Forum also lets professionals from across the globe join informal roundtables and shape the future of the industry together.

International matchmaking
The Junior Co-production Market lets film and series makers pitch their project to financiers, broadcasters, sales agents, and producers, offering a major springboard for projects in development.

Talent development
Cinekid is the only talent incubator for international writers and directors focusing on youth media.

The Cinekid Script LAB is an international training programme for children’s film and series writers. Lasting six months, it offers an inclusive setting for writers to refine their scripts under the guidance of renowned international coaches.

Cinekid Directors LAB, aimed at projects at an advanced stage of development, enables children’s film and series directors to level up their creations by learning from each other and receiving feedback from actors, peers, and other professionals.

Each year, Cinekid and its partner Young Horizons invites a group of high-potential producers to attend an intensive programme during the festivals in Warsaw and Amsterdam. The programme introduces participants to the opportunities and challenges of creating content for children.

Cinekid offers educational programmes inside and outside schools during the festival and throughout the year. Aimed at schools and extracurricular clubs, the programmes are a collaboration with museums, cinemas, and social partners throughout the Netherlands.

Vision of education: playful learning
As an advocate of playful learning, Cinekid knows that children become the masters of their own learning and are intrinsically driven to explore on their own when their learning objectives and interests converge. That’s why Cinekid lets children discover films in fun-focused masterclasses and workshops. That combination of learning while having fun leads to deep learning and improved knowledge retention.

During the festival
The schools programme lets children visit Cinekid Festival with their school or extracurricular club. They get to view one or more films and, during the teaching programme, have the opportunity to make their own film and media creations.

Their journey starts at school during a preparatory lesson, complete with excerpts, theory, and creative tasks about the festival film(s) they’re going to watch. Once at the festival, they join a workshop in the cinema, led by a professional filmmaker. This multi-layer approach lets children discover the film for themselves

They’ll also get to explore and play in the unique MediaLab, packed with brand-new VR, AR, and AI technologies.

Throughout the year
Each year, Cinekid collaborates with its trusted partners to offer long-term, educational programmes both inside and outside schools, giving teachers the tools to reap the benefits of the latest forms of film education while contributing to its evolution and development. This includes Free Films for Classrooms, online lessons focused on film, or year-round film screenings for schools in cinemas. Schools can also use Cinekid’s programme as part of the School & Environment (School & Omgeving) grant programme. Here are some of examples of Cinekid’s educational projects:

• Radio Cinekid: This extracurricular programme lets children from selected schools in Amsterdam develop their own perspective on heritage. Guided by Stratenmakers Audiocollectief, they put together a mini podcast about their community.

• Shorts by Kids: Lasting five weeks, this national project lets pupils from IMC primary schools produce their own film under the expert guidance of a professional filmmaker. The children’s final creation gets the full premiere treatment at their local cinema!

• Cinekid Presents: This programme gives children throughout the Netherlands access to the best new films. As a collaboration between Cinekid and cinemas throughout the Netherlands, the programme consists of exciting film screenings with workshops that let children have fun and get hands-on!

• Cinekid Inflatable Cinema: Always on the move, the Inflatable Cinema shows free screenings of the best, funniest, and most exciting short films for all ages, specially selected by Cinekid. The Cinekid Inflatable Cinema spends the summer visiting various locations in the Netherlands and pops up at Pathé Amsterdam Noord during the festival.