New York International Children's Film Festival

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL, INC.
FILM SUBMISSION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Purpose of these Rules.

The following terms and conditions (these “Terms”) govern the submission of films to the New York International Children’s Film Festival, Inc. (“NYICFF”) for consideration for the 2026 New York International Children’s Film Festival (the “Festival”). To the extent this document is inconsistent with any other document prepared by NYICFF or anyone else, this document will take precedence. Any questions about these Terms should be directed to programming@nyicff.org. NYICFF reserves the right to decide all questions not specifically provided for herein.

NYICFF and the Festival.

Founded in 1997, NYICFF has established itself as the premier film festival for children and teens in North America.

The Festival is an Academy Award®-qualifying festival, and the only children’s film festival in the United States to hold that honor. Winners of the Festival’s juried prizes in the live action and animated short film categories are eligible for Oscar® consideration. To find out more about eligibility, please visit www.oscars.org.

Submission and Eligibility.

By submitting a film (an “Entry”) to NYICFF for Festival consideration, the submitter (the “Applicant”) represents that he, she or it has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers and/or other authorized representatives of the Entry whose consent is required to submit the Entry to NYICFF (collectively, the “Film Owners”) and screen the Entry at the Festival and at associated events, in theaters or online, and has read, understood and agreed to these Terms.

NYICFF may disqualify or reject, but is not required to do so, any submission that it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with these Terms, and may do so without returning the Applicant’s submission. NYICFF designates “short films” as works with a running time of less than 40 minutes in length. Works with running times of 40 minutes or longer are designated as “feature films.” NYICFF accepts submissions throughout the calendar year. Only one version of the Film may be submitted; NYICFF will not review multiple versions of a Film. Entries received by December 15, 2025 for the short film and the feature film categories are eligible for consideration for the 2026 New York International Children’s Film Festival, scheduled for March 2026. NYICFF may accept selected late submissions in its sole and absolute discretion.

To be eligible to screen in competition, production must be completed no later than January 1, 2026. If the Entry contains dialogue or narration not in English, the Entry must be subtitled or dubbed in English.

If submitting a link to an online screener, please ensure that it does not expire, and provide any necessary passwords. Please upload onto your submission page any available promotional materials such as high-resolution stills, production credits, director’s biography and any additional press kit materials.Entry and entry materials will not be returned. You will be contacted by NYICFF if your Entry is selected for participation. The 2026 Festival lineup will be posted at www.nyicff.org.

Once submitted, Entries may not be withdrawn from participation in the Festival. In the event of selection, the Applicant must deliver to NYICFF an HD digital video file of the Entry by electronic file transfer or on a physical digital storage device. All costs and expenses for the delivery to NYICFF of any Entry shall be borne by the Applicant.
Intellectual Property; Grant of Rights.

By submitting the Entry to NYICFF, the Applicant and Film Owners (the “Submitting Parties”) hereby represent and warrant that: (i) the Entry is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection, unless such work is in the public domain or the Submitting Parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses and other authorizations or waivers of any kind necessary for the inclusion or reproduction of any person, character, location, thing, trademark, sound recording, musical composition or other work in the Entry; (ii) the Entry does not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person; (iii) the Entry is not the subject of litigation, nor any dispute that could give rise to litigation; (iv) there are no agreements, nor will there be any agreements made subsequent to the date of the submission of the Entry that would or could have the effect of impairing the Submitting Parties’ ability to provide the Entry as contemplated herein, or otherwise conflict with any provision of these Terms; and (v) the Submitting Parties have the full right, power and authority to submit the Entry to NYICFF for Festival consideration and to grant all of the rights granted hereunder and there is no obligation or disability that would in any way impair, restrict or impede the Submitting Parties from fully performing all obligations pursuant to this submission and these Terms. The Submitting Parties agree to indemnify and hold harmless NYICFF, its licensees, successors and assigns and its and their members, officers, directors, employees, volunteers, agents, representatives, associates and affiliates (each a “Releasee”), from any claim, suit, action or other proceeding brought against a Releasee and from any losses, costs or damages, including the Releasee’s full legal fees, costs and expenses (including any legal fees, costs and expenses expended in connection with enforcing this indemnity), which it may have suffered or incurred or may suffer or incur, directly or indirectly based on, in connection with, or arising from the use and exhibition of the Entry submitted by the Applicant or the breach or alleged breach of any representation, warranty or other agreement made by the Applicant in these Terms.
If the Applicant’s Entry is selected for participation in the Festival, the Applicant hereby irrevocably grants NYICFF the following rights with respect to the Entry on a “free-use” no-fee basis, without reservations, conditions or qualifications: (i) the exclusive right within the greater New York City area to exhibit the Entry publicly one or multiple times during the Festival and for a period of six weeks thereafter; (ii) the right to exhibit the Entry on a secure streaming platform; (iii) the right to present or allow others to present excerpts of the Entry up to a total of three minutes in length in any medium for promotional purposes; (iv) the right to incorporate and use stills, art, footage, biographical material, names and likenesses from the Entry for promotional purposes and in NYICFF merchandise; (v) the right to share screener links of the Entry with the press and media for review; (vi) the right to exhibit the Entry at press and promotional screenings; (vii) the right to exhibit the film for educational use; (viii) the right to electronically duplicate the Entry for the purpose of compiling a screening master for projection; (ix) the right to make the Entry available for public exhibition at U.S. venues nationally for a period of twelve months following the Festival as part of the “NYICFF Kid Flicks” touring festival programs and/or at NYICFF-produced festival events nationally and internationally; (x) the right to share preview screener links of the Entry with NYICFF-partner presenters; (xi) the right to exhibit the Entry in an online festival, screening event, or compilation; (xii) the right to use the Entry in a limited run DVD or digital compilation to be sold by NYICFF for fundraising purposes; and (xiii) the right to retain any and all revenues from ticket sales, merchandise, rental fees and sponsorship associated with the Entry’s participation in the Festival or any associated events.

NYICFF shall use its best efforts to ensure correct title and credits are listed on Festival materials but shall not be held liable for inadvertent errors and omissions.
NYICFF reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to schedule or adjust dates and times of all film screenings at the Festival or any associated events and to shift the presentation of the Festival from theaters to an online experience if public health guidelines require.