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Causes: Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Film & Video, Youth Development Programs
Mission: Since 1997, New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF)'s mission has been rooted in the belief of film as a path for young people to understand themselves and others. All programs celebrate the beauty and power of film, spark the inherent capacity of children to connect with complex, nuanced art, and encourage the creation of films that celebrate unique, diverse, and historically excluded voices. NYICFF serves children, students, families, educators, filmmakers, and media professionals through its year-round core activities: the annual, Oscar®-qualifying NYC film festival and national tour; FilmEd, a media arts and literacy program; and career discovery programs for young filmmakers.
Results: NYICFF is an Academy®-qualifying festival. Recipients of the NYICFF jury prizes are eligible for consideration in the Live Action Short and Animated Short Film categories of the Annual Academy Awards.® NYICFF provides FilmEd Field Trips for free to Title I schools.
Target demographics: Youth aged 3-18, families, educators, and artists
Direct beneficiaries per year: 35,000
Geographic areas served: New York City
Programs: The annual Festival typically draws an audience of 15,000+ children, families, and filmmakers. Its curatorial focus is on artistic excellence, cultural diversity, and wide-ranging thematics, comprising 100 films from around the world. Voting and Q&As with filmmakers encourage discussion and critical thinking. The annual tour brings curated highlights to organizations across the country, often in locations geographically isolated from comprehensive, meaningful arts for young people. NYICFF’s FilmEd programs use films as a basis for customized lessons and resources for teachers, supplementing existing curricula and designed to foster social-emotional learning, media literacy, and critical thinking. FilmEd serves 8,000-10,000 students annually, 70% from Title I public schools where a majority of students live below the poverty line in communities where access to the arts is limited.