ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL International Festival for Children and Youth (Zlín Film Festival – Mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež)

ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL International Festival for Children and Youth

Zlín Film Festival – Mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež

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Zlín Film Festival focuses on films for and about children and adolescents, pairing cinema for young audiences with films about childhood intended for teenagers and adults. Its competitions cover international features in children’s, junior and youth categories, short animation for children, European feature documentaries for young audiences, and student films in the Zlín Dog competition. Non-competitive strands include world cinema for children, new Czech films and television, European series for teenagers, retrospectives and VR screenings.

The festival begins its history in 1961 and is organised by FILMFEST in Zlín, Czech Republic. Its programme also includes filmmaker meetings, workshops and activities for schools and families. The 67th edition dates are 27 May–2 June 2027.

Country

Czech Republic

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short, Student, Television, Virtual Reality

Dates

27 May 2027 — 2 June 2027

Awards and prizes

Golden Slipper awards recognise feature films in the children’s, junior and youth categories and short animation for children. The Karel Zeman Award recognises visual achievement in a children’s feature, and the Hermína Týrlová Award recognises animation for children up to six. The ECFA Doc Award goes to a European documentary for young audiences. The Zlín Dog student competition awards a main prize of EUR 1,000 and awards for animation, live action and documentary. Children’s and youth juries give separate prizes. Audience awards include the Golden Apple and the ČT:D award for short animation. The Festival President presents a Golden Slipper for outstanding contribution to cinema for children and youth.

Festival rules

For the 2027 edition, competition films must be produced after 1 January 2025. Short animations for children may run no longer than 15 minutes. Short live-action films are accepted only as student films. Submit through the official application form with an online screener, subtitled in English unless the film is in Czech, by 1 March 2027. Selection notifications are due by 1 April 2027. Selected films must arrive by 5 May 2027 as DCP; short animations and student competition films may also be delivered as QuickTime H.264 HD. Participation is free. Films are screened with English subtitles and Czech subtitles or simultaneous interpretation as appropriate. Selected films are included in the digital library for accredited film professionals and journalists unless otherwise agreed.

Contacts

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