Cinekid Festival

Cinekid Lion — Best Children’s Film Competition: an international professional jury awards a statuette and prize money to the winning film’s director. The children’s audience chooses a separate Audience Award statuette. Cinekid Lion — Best Dutch Children’s Film Competition: a national professional jury awards a statuette and prize money to the winning director; visiting children choose a separate Audience Award. Sparks and Flames competitions each present Cinekid Lion awards for Best International Short Film and Best Dutch Short Film. Professional juries of Dutch and international members select the winners; the directors receive a statuette and prize money. Cinekid Lion — Youth Jury Award: Dutch teenagers choose a feature film for children aged nine and older; the director receives a statuette and prize money. Best Dutch Series Competition: a professional jury presents the Most Original Series Production Award to the principal production company and the Craftsmanship in a Series Production Award to the relevant makers. The first recognises innovation and originality; the second recognises a particular creative or technical contribution. Game Award: a professional committee nominates three games and a children’s jury chooses the winner. The makers receive €2,500.

2026 film and series submissions Entry is free. The deadline is 1 June 2026; the official call currently lists submissions as closed. Productions must meet Cinekid’s quality standards and be made for, or suitable for, the relevant children’s age group. The programming team and children’s panel take part in selection. Eligible submissions are considered for relevant awards. Submission constitutes acceptance of the applicable competition regulations. Work-in-progress submissions are accepted where stated below, provided the final version is ready well before the festival. Best Children’s Film Competition International features must run at least 50 minutes, be suitable for ages 3–14 and have at least their Dutch premiere at Cinekid. Work-in-progress versions may be considered. Selected films receive at least three screenings, without screening fees. Further screenings require separate authorisation; declining those extra screenings does not affect selection. Best Dutch Children’s Film Competition Features must run at least 50 minutes and suit ages 3–14. They must have a Dutch producer and, for international co-productions, a recognisable Dutch contribution to the creative and production process. No premiere is required, but films must be no more than one year old and not released before the end of the previous Cinekid edition. Work-in-progress versions may be considered. Selection requires at least two public festival screenings. Cinekid pays a share of box-office revenue, rather than fixed screening fees. Winners must acknowledge the award in marketing and other releases; Cinekid supplies materials. Selection and award decisions are not subject to correspondence. Sparks and Flames short-film competitions Sparks serves ages 4–8; Flames serves ages 9–13. Films must be shorter than 50 minutes. International shorts released in 2024, 2025 or 2026 are eligible, without premiere requirements. Dutch short-film categories require a Dutch producer and, for co-productions, a recognisable Dutch creative and production contribution, such as a Dutch director or screenwriter. The Dutch regulations permit unfinished submissions if completed well before the festival. Selected shorts require at least four public screenings without screening fees; additional promotional or educational screenings may be requested. Dutch-category winners must mention the prize in publicity using Cinekid’s supplied materials. Selection and award decisions are not subject to correspondence. Youth Jury Competition Features of at least 50 minutes must suit children aged nine and older. There is no premiere requirement. Selected films receive a maximum of two screenings without screening fees. Best Dutch Series Competition Fiction and non-fiction series must suit ages 3–14 and be made by a Dutch producer; international co-productions require recognisable Dutch creative and production input. Series must be broadcast in 2025 or 2026, in the same form as submitted. Three episodes are required, without an episode-length limit. Compilations, previously submitted series except new seasons, and repeats of productions broadcast before the festival start are excluded under the regulations. Unfinished productions may be considered if the final series or episode is ready well before the festival. Around eight series are nominated. Nominees are normally not publicly screened, except for a world premiere or special presentation, but applicants must allow a possible single public screening. Additional promotional or educational screenings may be requested; no screening fee or box-office share is paid. Winners must acknowledge the award in publicity. Selection and award decisions are not subject to correspondence. Required film and series materials Film entries require a streaming screener available until the final festival day, three high-quality stills of at least 300 DPI, synopsis and logline, credits, director biography and a CMYK poster file of at least 300 DPI. International feature, short and Youth Jury entries require an English-subtitled screener, a 300-DPI PDF poster, and an English SRT subtitle file or time-coded dialogue list. Shorts additionally require an English-subtitled MP4. Series require episode screener links available until the final festival day, three 300-DPI stills, synopsis, logline and credits. Cinekid may use supplied publicity materials without limit for promotional purposes. Screening copies and translation Films are supplied digitally as DCPs. Alternatives for international features, shorts and Youth Jury entries require individual approval. International feature DCPs must carry soft-coded English subtitles, supplied free of charge; Dutch features preferably include them. International features, shorts and Youth Jury copies are due before 1 September 2026; Dutch feature copies are due by 1 October 2026. Copies must remain available throughout the festival. Youth Jury physical copies, if exceptionally accepted, are not returned or forwarded before its end. Shorts and Youth Jury films are presented with Dutch subtitles or, for the youngest audiences, live Dutch voice-over; Cinekid pays translation or dubbing costs. English SRT files or time-coded dialogue lists are required, with an unencrypted DCP or DKDM for subtitle repackaging. Unencrypted DCPs are strongly preferred; applicants pay DKDM/KDM costs when encryption is used. Short and Dutch feature applicants cover digital transport and publicity-material transport expenses. Physical promotional materials are not guaranteed to be stored or returned. Rights holders, ScreeningClub and accreditation Dutch feature and short applicants and Youth Jury applicants must inform other rights holders and appoint one contact for correspondence. For Dutch series, broadcaster and external producer or co-producer must inform each other and appoint one responsible contact. Nominated Dutch feature, short and series contacts receive electronic notification and an awards invitation. All selected films and series are automatically included in ScreeningClub, the video sales library for accredited Cinekid for Professionals guests; Dutch films and shorts require an English-subtitled version. Selected film teams receive one free accreditation, initially offered to the director and transferable to another team member. Travel and accommodation are not covered unless individually agreed. Game Award 2026 International artists, designers, students, studios and collectives may submit games and apps suitable for some or all of ages 3–14; they need not be made exclusively for children. Works must be accessible on mobile, VR, AR, XR, web, PC, consoles or as interactive installations, completed between June 2024 and September 2026, and capable of effective physical presentation at the festival. Unfinished works must be substantially playable and accessible to the jury. Quality, innovation, authenticity and enjoyable mechanics inform selection; sequels or new versions without further development are ineligible. The deadline is 26 June 2026. A professional committee selects up to ten works and a top three; a children’s jury chooses the winner. Selected applicants provide publicity materials for unlimited promotional and educational use. Entry implies acceptance of the regulations. Professional development The Junior Co-production Market, Directors LAB and Script LAB have separate project-development calls and regulations on the official submission page. Their entry requirements are separate from the completed film and series competitions above.