The International film festival of films
by children for children

Today children and young people make up half of the world population. The other half is convinced that these children must have access to quality media and should be given the opportunity to enjoy stories reflecting their imagination and experiences. Films and television programs instruct, inspire, educate and entertain in profound and pervasive ways. They are powerful communication tools that can have a positive influence and beneficial impact on young audiences all over the world. Many concerned media professionals are working extremely hard to bring strong creativity and solid values to their work for young audiences.

But what messages would the children themselves want to convey? Are children capable of constructing meaningful films with the same tools as media professionals? More and more festivals and media educators are giving their young audiences the opportunity to express themselves with script and camera, but the results are rarely shown outside the festival or the school. This is what Kids For Kids Festival is all about: a unique opportunity to screen and promote audiovisual messages created by children for children.

The first experimental Kids For Kids Festival was created in 2001. It was held during the 3rd World Summit. The results were encouraging and CIFEJ was asked to implement the project and manage the annual international event. Young filmmakers, aged 6 to 16, from all over the world, were invited to submit their films. The second edition of the Kids For Kids Festival took place in Athens, in June 2004 and was a huge success. A special Sports category was added that year to celebrate the Olympics. Over the next three years, the festival was held in twice Naples, Italy (2005 and 2007) and Nicosia, Cyprus (2006). Again these wonderful events brought together many young people from all over the world and demonstrated the talents and potential of young filmmakers.

Pre-selection juries choose films in each category for the festival’s official competition. Awards for each category and age group are handed out by international juries (adult and children) and are presented at a special closing ceremony. The program of the festival includes all selected films, and a DVD compilation presenting “The best of Kids For Kids” is made available each year.

We invite you to join us for the 2008 edition and discover what children, the end-users of audiovisual material, have to say. You might be surprised!

CIFEJ is the French acronym for International Center of Film for Children and Young People