Children's film festivals all over the world is a global community from which both children and adults benefit from. These festivals introduce young audiences to international stories that they can relate to and will resonate with them. In this article we talk about the largest and most significant children's film festivals across the globe.

Starting from India, the International Children's Film Festival India (The Golden Elephant) is a biennial festival that strives to bring the most imaginative and delightful international & national children’s cinema to young audiences in India. The festival presents features, shorts, live action and animation films over seven days of festive celebrations attended by more than one hundred thousand children, hundreds of film professionals and eminent guests from around the world.

The ICFFI also has a category called the Little Directors Program that provides opportunities for children from across the country to participate in filmmaking workshops and produce short films by themselves. This is a wonderful platform for children to exhibit their skills and talents to an international audience.

The flagship New York International Children’s Film Festival has grown from one weekend of films into the largest film festival for children and teens in North America. Screened over the course of four weeks at venues throughout NYC, the Festival program – narrowed down from roughly 2,500 international submissions. Audience members of all ages vote on the Festival-winning films. Winners of the Festival’s juried prizes are eligible for consideration at the annual Academy Awards. In addition to presenting the annual event, New York International Children’s Film Festival is a multifaceted arts organization that offers year-round engagement.

Children's film festivals are dedicated to sharing the transformative power of film to entertain, educate, and inspire. The Film-Ed initiative by New York's Children Film Festival gives children the tools to become active viewers and to ensure that the conversation continues outside of the theatre. The education initiative would include hands-on filmmaking workshops, field trips, and free and discounted participation opportunities for students from low-income families. These programs serve over 7,500 students, families, and educators each year.

Over the past 13 years, Children's Film Festival Seattle has become the largest and most respected film festival on the West Coast dedicated to children and their families. Each year, Northwest Film Forum selects more than 170 children's films from 50+ countries, reaching more than 10,000 people during festival screenings in Seattle and a subsequent festival tour of 15-20 U.S. cities.

Another one, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival aims to set an internationally-recognized standard of excellence in film production for children and youth. The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival is produced and presented by Facets, a leading national not-for-profit media arts organization, founded in 1975. The year-round programs of Facets include​ programs of regional, national and global impact and reach in the areas of exhibition, distribution and education of independent and art films.

All the festivals strive to support the work of talented and dedicated filmmakers by showcasing international films of the highest quality and awarding prizes in multiple categories of production formats and genres. People at the festivals also provide professional forums to enable quality children’s films to gain increased distribution and access to wider audiences. The film experiences of young viewers are deepened through a broad range of programs which also extend festival film viewing into discussion and learning.