CIFF 2025 aimed to be the largest Children’s Film Festival in the UK. Supporting our mission to empower and inspire children to bring their creativity into the world.

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Having successfully joined forces to bring primary school filmmakers and their families to the Kingston International Film Festival (KIFF) in previous years, the inaugural Children's International Film Festival took place in Kingston upon Thames on June 6th, 2025. The day consisted of an incredible range of workshops and screenings, supported and run by screen arts experts from NFTS, BAFTA, Into Film, Ciné Schools and more. With screenings of a Disney blockbuster as well as many films made by under 16s, the day was a celebration of film, both made by and made for, young people.

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Our event showcased films submitted from all over the world, enabling children to see their creations on the big screen. The Children’s International Film Festival continues to be supported and championed by key stakeholders across the film industry. 

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Following the success of the 2025 Festival, the International Festival moves to the south coast and the creative centre of Hastings for 2026. A London focused legacy Festival, the Kingston Children's Film Festival, is planned for the end of June in Kingston, building from last year's event and ensuring a focus point remains for the community of schools and young people now regularly making films across London. 

 

The ambition is that the Hastings Festival will continue on in the same way next year and beyond, as the Children's International Film Festival heads to Yorkshire in 2027. As the International Festival reaches different cities and communities each year, this legacy of locally focused festivals will continue to provide a foundation for filmmaking and the screen arts industry across the country.

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Film enriches lives. We want to foster this inate desire in children to make something wonderful and fun and to share this. We want to open these young hearts and minds to the power of film making. 

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They are filmmakers.