Rochester International Children's Film Festival

Founded in 2006, the RICFF hosts FREE screenings of creative, non-violent films in mostly urban neighborhood settings such as libraries, daycare centers, schools and places of worship (during the pandemic, we have temporarily switched to free online screenings). One of our founding principles is to bring films TO children, as opposed to asking them to come to us in the more traditional festival venues such as arthouse and museum theatres. Studies have shown many at-risk children do not have access to transportation, so we purposefully choose community settings where children and their families can easily walk. After screenings we follow up with art and media literacy activities, and give away free books. The RICFF is the first and only festival in Rochester to do this.