CineYouth is the Chicago International Film Festival’s yearly film festival that showcases short films made by filmmakers 22 years old and younger from around the world. CineYouth strives to encourage the talent of young artists and to provide them with opportunities to tell their stories, network with their peers and be recognized for their creativity. CineYouth is a free and open to the public of all ages.

CineYouth’s 14th year will be held in Chicago, IL at the iconic Music Box Theatre April 20-22 and will include screenings of Officially Selected films, hands on workshops and special events. Approximately 80 films are accepted to CineYouth.

Award-winning CineYouth films are screened at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival at the CineYouth "Best of the Fest" screening (October 2018).

Awards & Prizes

Up to two films in each genre category will be awarded a "Best Of" honor. Junior Division winners are students 16 and under. Senior Division winners are students 17 and older. Both "Best Of" films will be screened at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival.
Cash Award Value: 100 U.S. Dollar

Rules & Terms

CineYouth is the Chicago International Film Festival’s yearly film festival that showcases short films made by filmmakers 22 years old and younger from around the world. CineYouth strives to encourage the talent of young artists and to provide them with opportunities to tell their stories, network with their peers and be recognized for their creativity.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Entries accepted October 2, 2017 –through February 12, 2018

Eligibility
- The film’s director(s) must have been 22 years old or younger at time of filming
- All films must be in English or subtitled in English
- All music and other copyrighted material used must be properly licensed
- The length of all submissions must be 15 minutes or less, including
credits
- Past submissions to CineYouth may not be resubmitted
- You must provide your age at the time of film completion in the Synopsis.

Submission Process

- Please include your age at time of film completion in the Synopsis.
- In addition to Secure Online Screeners via FilmFreeway, submissions may also be considered on DVD (region 0 or 1). DVDs must be sent to the address below (one film per DVD for multiple submissions). DVDs will not be returned. Clearly label the DVD with the FilmFreeway tracking number.
- You may submit as many films as you like, but a completed entry
form/FilmFreeway submission must accompany EACH entry.
- Programming decisions are sent via email by April 3, 2017.
- Because of the high volume of submissions, we are unable to provide feedback on why your film was/was not selected.
- If your film is accepted, you will be asked to provide an electronic film still (not poster image) that is a minimum 300dpi, 4×6 and high quality.