MY FIRST FESTIVAL
05 Oct 2025
Call for entries
14 Dec 2025
Final deadline
2
mths
09 Feb 2026
Notification date
21 Feb 2026
28 Feb 2026
Festival start: 21 February 2026 Festival end: 28 February 2026
2026 CALL FOR ENTRIES
My First Festival #11 - Solar Edition
A film festival to imagine sustainable futures from childhood
My First Festival (MPF) is the first international film, audiovisual, and new technologies festival for children and youth in Peru. We sow a love of cinema as a tool for social transformation through audiovisual and media literacy. Working with, by, and for children, as agents of change, allows us, through a coordinating role, to contribute to the development of society.
Our cross-cutting theme is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), using a community-based approach to build a sustainable present and future with a positive social impact.
MPF invites you to participate in its 11th edition, which will take place throughout 2026 in different regions of Peru. Building on our first event in Lima, which will take place from February 21 to 28, 2026, both in person and virtually in public spaces and cultural centers, with an innovative proposal that includes 100% solar-powered film screenings.
The festival will reach urban, rural, and hard-to-reach areas of Peru, with open, free screenings and the active participation of children, adolescents, teachers, families, and indigenous communities.
The theme is open, and films from around the world are accepted on our platforms.
The eleventh edition of MY FIRST FESTIVAL will feature the following awards:
- Best National and International Feature Film Award
- Best National and International Short Film Award
- Best National and International TV/Web Series Award
- Future National and International Filmmakers Award
- Honorable Mentions in each category
- Children and Youth Audience Award
- NIFEST Cinema Award
The jury will be made up of prominent figures in the fields of culture and education, and the public vote will be held by children and adolescents.
REGISTRATION
Registration is free and will be open from Monday, October 6th to December 14th, 2025, through our platforms:
Any natural person and/or legal entity may participate, individually or collectively, and without age restriction.
In the case of audiovisual works submitted by minors, the minor's parent will be responsible for submitting their film to the platform and providing their contact information.
Films must be produced in 2024 or later and be aimed exclusively at children and/or adolescents.
CATEGORIES
This year's festival will feature the following categories:
Feature films: 60 minutes or longer, of any film genre, aimed at children and young people. Filmmakers of any age are welcome to participate.
Short films: 1 to 20 minutes long, of any film genre, aimed at children and young people. Filmmakers of any age are welcome to participate.
Series: 1 to 30 minutes long, TV and/or web series aimed at children and young people aged 0 to 16. Filmmakers of any age are welcome to participate.
Future Filmmakers:
A) Individual and/or collective: films of 1 to 30 minutes made by children, adolescents, and/or groups made up of children and adolescents, aimed at children and young people.
B) Schools: films of 1 to 30 minutes made in educational institutions of any kind with the participation of children, adolescents, and young people and/or teachers, of any educational level, aimed at children and young people.
The festival may divide the films into:
- Preschool (up to 6 years old)
- Childhood (7 to 11 years old)
- Adolescence (12 to 16 years old)
SELECTION
The My First Festival programming and management team is responsible for selecting the films that will participate in the competitions.
The authors or owners of the selected films and series will be contacted by email starting in January 2026.
By submitting the film or series, the participant authorizes its free screening within the framework of the 11th edition, whether in person or virtually.
The Festival has the right to withdraw a film if it does not comply with the guidelines of the UDHR and CRC, and those of the festival itself.
No Fee
Submissions deadline
14 Dec 25
Those TV or Web series aimed at children and young people between 0 to 16 years old compete.
No Fee
Submissions deadline
14 Dec 25
Between 1 and 20 minutes long.
Those fiction, animation, documentary or mixed media short films made by boys, girls and teens up to 16 years.
No Fee
Submissions deadline
14 Dec 25
Between 1 and 20 minutes long.
Those fiction, animation, documentary or mixed media short films made outside the Latin American region. The short films must be aimed for a child audience between 0 and 16 years old.
No Fee
Submissions deadline
14 Dec 25
Feature films: 45 minutes or more in length.
Feature films, animation, documentary or mixed media, are in competition. The festival is free to form blocks depending on the age (between 3 and 16 years) for which the films are directed.
