New York International Children’s Film Festival – Youth & Family Film Programs
225 Broadway, #2730, New York, NY 10007
About
New York International Children’s Film Festival – Youth & Family Film Programs features media production and cultural studies activities alongside screenings of approximately 100 short and feature films. The program includes Q&As with visiting filmmakers from around the world and audience voting on the films shown.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: The annual Festival takes place over three weekends in March.
New York International Children’s Film Festival has presented thoughtful, provocative, intelligent film for all ages for over 25 years. Its mission is to create and foster a more diverse and intelligent film culture for children, with programs designed to celebrate unique, historically excluded voices and inspired storytelling. The annual Festival is Oscar-qualifying and presents new film from around the world for ages 3–18 and above, prioritizing films by and about people from historically underrepresented communities and giving BIPOC, LGBTQIA, neurodiverse, and disabled artists the opportunity to share their work. Festival awards are determined by the votes of the audience, with additional weight added to those under the age of 18, and films curated for the Festival serve as the cornerstone of programming that takes place throughout the year.
NYICFF partners with over 100 cultural institutions, performing arts centers, festivals, and independent cinemas to bring film to young people across the country. The NYICFF National Kid Flicks Tour brings films from the NYC Festival to theaters, museums, libraries, and cultural organizations nationwide, and Field Trips use film to engage students in conversation on topics such as identity and belonging while strengthening media and traditional literacy skills.
The organization’s leadership includes executive director Nina Guralnick and programming director Maria-Christina Villaseñor, along with staff members Rebecca Linde (Communications Director), Joanne Giordano (Development Manager), Debbie Riservato (Operations Manager), Jun Kim (Tour Coordinator), and Langston Young (Programming Assistant). The board of directors includes Guy Story (President), Priya Giri Desai (Vice President), K. Heather McRay (Secretary), Kennedy Cogan (Treasurer), Deepak Arya, Stephen Baker, Scott Cohen, Erin Greenhouse, Karina Linch, Annie Luo, Nina Schroeren, and Jenny Young, and the board of advisors includes Yvonne Chan, Drew Feldman, Nicola Marshall, Lynn McVeigh, Judith Seidel, Shruti Ganguly, and Jo Anne Schlesinger. The jury includes Madeline DiNonno (President & CEO, Geena Davis Institute), Jorge Gutierrez (award-winning writer, animator, director of Maya and the Three and The Book of Life), Guillermo Martinez (director and Head of Story at Sony Pictures Animation), Matthew Modine (Emmy-nominated actor and producer), Chris Nee (Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and creator of Doc McStuffins), Bob Odenkirk (Emmy-winning writer, actor, and author of the best-selling children’s book Zilot and Other Important Rhymes!), Erin Odenkirk (illustrator of Zilot and Other Important Rhymes! and former NYICFF intern), and Peter Ramsey (Academy Award-winning director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Last updated July 3, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: The annual Festival takes place over three weekends in March.
New York International Children’s Film Festival has presented thoughtful, provocative, intelligent film for all ages for over 25 years. Its mission is to create and foster a more diverse and intelligent film culture for children, with programs designed to celebrate unique, historically excluded voices and inspired storytelling. The annual Festival is Oscar-qualifying and presents new film from around the world for ages 3–18 and above, prioritizing films by and about people from historically underrepresented communities and giving BIPOC, LGBTQIA, neurodiverse, and disabled artists the opportunity to share their work. Festival awards are determined by the votes of the audience, with additional weight added to those under the age of 18, and films curated for the Festival serve as the cornerstone of programming that takes place throughout the year.
NYICFF partners with over 100 cultural institutions, performing arts centers, festivals, and independent cinemas to bring film to young people across the country. The NYICFF National Kid Flicks Tour brings films from the NYC Festival to theaters, museums, libraries, and cultural organizations nationwide, and Field Trips use film to engage students in conversation on topics such as identity and belonging while strengthening media and traditional literacy skills.
The organization’s leadership includes executive director Nina Guralnick and programming director Maria-Christina Villaseñor, along with staff members Rebecca Linde (Communications Director), Joanne Giordano (Development Manager), Debbie Riservato (Operations Manager), Jun Kim (Tour Coordinator), and Langston Young (Programming Assistant). The board of directors includes Guy Story (President), Priya Giri Desai (Vice President), K. Heather McRay (Secretary), Kennedy Cogan (Treasurer), Deepak Arya, Stephen Baker, Scott Cohen, Erin Greenhouse, Karina Linch, Annie Luo, Nina Schroeren, and Jenny Young, and the board of advisors includes Yvonne Chan, Drew Feldman, Nicola Marshall, Lynn McVeigh, Judith Seidel, Shruti Ganguly, and Jo Anne Schlesinger. The jury includes Madeline DiNonno (President & CEO, Geena Davis Institute), Jorge Gutierrez (award-winning writer, animator, director of Maya and the Three and The Book of Life), Guillermo Martinez (director and Head of Story at Sony Pictures Animation), Matthew Modine (Emmy-nominated actor and producer), Chris Nee (Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and creator of Doc McStuffins), Bob Odenkirk (Emmy-winning writer, actor, and author of the best-selling children’s book Zilot and Other Important Rhymes!), Erin Odenkirk (illustrator of Zilot and Other Important Rhymes! and former NYICFF intern), and Peter Ramsey (Academy Award-winning director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Last updated July 3, 2026.
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