Submit to KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, KIDS FIRST! Best Awards

What is the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival

Kudos

We are so grateful that KIDS FIRST accepted our animated short, "The Escort"! I posted the KIDS FIRST review of our movie on social media and it opened a wonderful dialogue about children and spirituality. One of the most important benefits of this festival was the excellent personal communication I received, it reinforced my confidence as both a filmmaker and storyteller. Thank you, so much!Rick Williamson, The Escort, 2024

A very well organized film festival that respects the filmmakers. A great communication and valuable feedback. Thank you for selecting "Disappearing Jewels" for this year's edition.
Will Kimm, Disappearing Jewels.

Dear KIDS FIRST! Film Fest, All the best and a big thanks to the organizers, because without them we could not celebrate 2023!
We wish all the best to all those involved and a special thanks to the team for the organization! It is nice to have friends that stand up for the animation short film and at the same time take a social stand.
Thank you for choosing our Episode 4 "The Artist Formerly Known as Varona". Thank you for Kid Critics Say, this is an amazing and very important review. We wish the festival a long and happy life.
Blanca Pictures

My son Maxwell Andrew's film My Superpower was selected for the Kids First collection and it has been a wonderful experience for him. Ranny has been lovely to communicate with and Maxwell's film has already been included in another fantastic project thanks to Ranny and Kids First! Thank you Kids First!
Maxwell William Andrews

Our Kids@BIFF program was a rousing success last week and your KIDS FIRST! films played an invaluable part in that achievement!! We screened a total of eight shorts during the course of the program. Each and every one was well received by our fifth grade audiences. Light Sight, Free Advice, New Boy, Daisy's Oracle, The Probability Of Love, The Talking Goldfish, Two Balloons and Falling Up were all favorably rated by our young film critics. The professional educators who attended were very pleased with the quality and variety of this collection. Sincerely, Greg Gerard
Director of Programming
Beloit International Film Festival

Wanted you to know what a great time I had with Ann Brandman and co. in Hawaii this weekend. She does a fantastic job with her festival. She got me on the NPR station there and did a ton of ads both online and in newspapers prior to the screening. We had over 300 in attendance (more than a full house) and the movie looked and sounded great on a big screen. The kids were terrific and the process, including raffling prizes, Q&A and an autograph session at the end of the show, was smooth and efficient. The whole thing had a very positive family vibe and it was really nice to be a part of it. Thanks again for connecting us to the University of Hawaii KIDS FIRST! Film festival.
Dan Chuba,
Boxcar Children

Ranny, I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere & hearlfelt gratitude to you and your organization for providing us with the wonderful children's films. The films contributed immensely to our efforts in providing enriching experiences for children in Pakistan.

I am thrilled to inform you that the children's film festival we organised in partnership with Pakistan’s biggest school network featuring the films has been a tremendous success. The festival garnered an overwhelming response children & teachers drawing in a large and enthusiastic audience. The films resonated deeply with our audience, captivating their imaginations and inspiring meaningful discussions about various themes portrayed in the films.

The festival not only provided entertainment but also served as a platform for promoting cultural appreciation, empathy, and creativity among children. It was truly heartwarming to witness the joy and excitement on the faces of the young audience members as they immersed themselves in the world of cinema.

I wanted to share this update with you to express Roshan Rahain's gratitude once again for your support and to let you know that your films have made a significant impact on the lives of children in Pakistan. Your support has helped us further our mission of providing quality educational and entertaining experiences for children, and we are incredibly grateful for your partnership.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with you in the future and exploring more opportunities to work together in promoting children's education and cultural enrichment.

Thank you once again for your invaluable support.

Warm regards,

Shaigan Azhar | Roshan Rahain

The KIDS FIRST! Film Festival showcases new and classic children's films, TV shows and DVDs from studios, independent producers and youth filmmakers. It partners with more than 50 venues who showcase films selected by KIDS FIRST! in their youth and family section. KIDS FIRST! adds new titles multiple times throughout the year, accepting approximately 200 films annually. In 2016, there are special categories for submission of Environmental films, Spanish language films (dubbed or sub-titled), Faith-based films (features and episodics) as well as the usual documentaries, features, shorts and student films.

To be accepted into the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, your Film/Video/TV show must meet the KIDS FIRST! criteria and be suitable for children between the ages of 2 to 18. The production quality must be acceptable for the large screen and the entertainment value suitable for a festival audience. Programs lacking in these last two qualities may be better suited for a KIDS FIRST! endorsement particularly those with educational values that work best in a face-to-face learning environment. Independent and student producers need to clear all copyrighted music or film clips for film festival play.

Please, do not submit films without clearances!

Please do not submit if you require a screening fee.

Screenplays are accepted through the KIDS FIRST! endorsement program which is open year round, without deadlines. Go here to submit.

To submit to the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, use FilmFreeway.com

https://filmfreeway.com/festival/KIDSFIRSTFilmFestival

Upon acceptance, short films 60 minutes or less will be included in our password protected KIDS FIRST! Film Festival programmers site. From this site, our venue programmers will preview your film and, once they select it for their festival will download it for their festival play. Your application pre-approves these terms.

Upon acceptance, your film will be offered to the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival Venue Partners for a period of 2 years. If necessary, you may suspend screenings after the first 6 months from acceptance date with 30 days written notification.

Once you submit a title to the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, you may not withdraw it. Be sure you have no conflicts prior to submitting.

Acceptance notification

Acceptance notification will be emailed by the acceptance notification date of before. Your acceptance letter will specify deliverables and deadlines. Your film/screenplay may use the "Official Selection KIDS FIRST! Film Festival" seal in all your publicity and promotion. If it is part of a series, others in the series may not use it. .

Promotional Materials

Upon acceptance, you will be asked to send 72 dpi poster art or production stills. Full instructions will be sent with your acceptance letter.

Festival Bookings

Your will be notified of all bookings y our KIDS FIRST! Film Festival Venue Partners. As per the acceptance letter, we will make your film available for two years from its initial acceptance date, unless otherwise notified by you.

Once Accepted

Your film, video, TV show or screenplay...

Receives an "Official Selection KIDS FIRST! Film Festival" designation which may be used in any of your publicity materials.
Is included in the password protected KIDS FIRST! Film Festival Venue Partner website.
Is assigned a detail page on the KIDS FIRST! web site which will feature artwork, reviews and trailer from the film. This site receives 1 million hits monthly.

Tips About Copyright Clearances

Independent and student producers need to clear the copyrighted music for film festivals or not use copyrighted music at all. The music business regards the use of music at film festivals as a violation of copyright unless permission has been granted. They have provided a low fee of $250 to $750 for one year film festival rights.

This also applies to film clips. To actually clear a film clip, you need to clear the studio, every actor in the clip, music if there is any and Writers and Directors Guilds. The studios consider the use of a clip without clearance as a violation of copyright. And getting clearance is a lengthy, tricky and expensive task.

Young filmmakers need to understand it is not their right to use anything they want in their films. When they do, it gives them a great and unfair advantage over films and filmmakers who have not used copyrighted materials because they can't pay for them and have chosen to not use them without permission.

This information was generously provided by Barbara Zimmerman, President, BZ/Rights & Permissions, Inc. You may contact her at:
2350 Broadway, Suite 224
New York, NY 10024
phone: 212-924-3000
fax: 212-924-2525
http://www.bzrights.com

Helpful Links

Daily Variety:
http://www.variety.com

Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

Writing Treatments:
http://www.writingtreatments.com

Great American Pitchfest:
http://www.pitchfest.com

Publishers Weekly:
http://www.publishersweekly.com

Ed Silver Agency
http://www.edsilveragency.com

SCRIPTWRITER MAGAZINE:

http://www.writingtreatments.com/ScriptMag.html

"I was incredibly happy to learn that my script, Asta's Journey, was included in this fest. The feedback was valuable and appreciated. Thank you!" Freia Titland, screenwriter, 2020

"I was incredibly happy to learn that my script, Asta's Journey, was included in this fest. The feedback was valuable and appreciated. Thank you!" Matthew Agustin, filmmaker, 2020

"Good communication and timely notifications." Steve Brumwell, filmmaker 2020

"As an artist, I create projects that make a difference and shed light on subject matters deserving of more attention from society and from the filmmaking community. We are thrilled that the judges at KIDS FIRST! Film Festival recognized the importance of including our film The Worst Day of My Life! It's such an honor! This festival is organized and communicative, and I plan to submit all my upcoming films to this wonderful platform! Thanks so much!" Jaret Martino, filmmaker 2020

"Being accepted by KIDS FIRST! is a great confirmation/endorsement of one's writing that is well recognized by the industry as a stamp of approval of kid/family friendly projects. Thank you KIDS FIRST!" Duncan Putney, filmmaker 2020

"Our team had a great experience with KidsFirst. Very professional communication, and response time. We also felt very well taken care of." Ben Tobin, filmmaker, 2020

"Our team had a great experience with KIDS FIRST! Very professional communication, and response time. We also felt very well Kids First is an excellent festival for family films. We were very appreciative to have "Mr. Jim" chosen as an Official Selection. The highlight came when we received a lengthy, comprehensive review of our film which was extremely helpful in our publicity campaign. Thanks again KIDS FIRST!" Jack Foley, filmmaker 2019

KIDS FIRST! Film Festival is a project of the national, nonprofit, Coalition for Quality Children's Media, founded in 1991.

Home office address: KIDS FIRST! Coalition for Quality Children's Media 112 W. San Francisco St., Suite 305A Santa Fe, NM 87501

Submit to KIDS FIRST!