2026 here we come!

Planning for the second Children's International Film Festival is now well underway and the date is set for Thursday, June 18th, 2026.

Key to making the Festival happen in 2026 is our new Community Partner, The Bright Foundation, an arts education charity based in Hastings, East Sussex. Launched in 2022 by John Bright, an Academy & BAFTA Award winning costume designer for film, TV and theatre, the Bright Foundation offers children and young people life-enhancing creative experiences from two venues in Hastings. John Bright is the founder owner of the world’s leading period costume house, Cosprop, based in London.

On Thursday June 18^th, local schools, young filmmakers, and the wider film industry will participate in a full day of filmmaking activities in venues around the town.  The seaside town of Hastings is a hub for the creative arts, and organisations across the town are lining up to support the festival with everything from venues to making films.

The Bright Foundation's film making activities are centred around their second venue, the Benbow Arts Space in the centre of St Leonards-on-Sea. This is a creative learning hub for young people dedicated to the art of filmmaking. It has an early cinema exhibition, an events space, a workshop space, and a film production suite. In addition to its core group of staff working across the two sites, the Foundation brings together a group of dedicated trustees, freelancers, volunteers and ambassadors from the world of TV, film and theatre, creating an incredible team to support the organisation and delivery of The Children's International Film Festival in 2026.

In addition to the main Festival in Hastings, a smaller, locally focused, Kingston Children's Film Festival will continue the legacy left behind by last year's event. More news on that coming soon.

For more information about the Bright Foundation, visit its website here.