Festival Internacional de Cine Infantil y Juvenil - Zinetxiki Zinemaldia (11)

Festival start: 12 December 2026      Festival end: 27 December 2026

XI edition of the Zinetxiki Zinemaldia - International Film Festival for Children and Youth, organised by the cultural association Begira Elkartea, will take place in Bilbao and other Basque cities and towns from 12 to 27 December 2026.

Zinetxiki Zinemaldia aims at offering worldwide quality audiovisual contents to a family audience. Through the projection of selected works in several competitive categories, the festival seeks to promote the audiovisual education and the creation of new audiences.

Cash Prizes: 200€

JUDGING PANEL AND AWARDS

The jury of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia will be composed of film industry professionals with extensive careers and diverse experience. The jury will be announced on the Zinetxiki Zinemaldia website in November 2026.

In evaluating the submitted works, the jury will consider technical aspects such as cinematography and animation techniques, among others, as well as the theme of the script, prioritizing pluralistic content and values-based education.

The persons responsible for the winning works will be notified by email, and the awards will be publicly announced during the celebration of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia.

The awards aim to provide international recognition to audiovisual works of the highest quality and best content for family audiences, contributing to the promotion of the work by the festival. The awards will also include a financial contribution to support the promotion and dissemination of the work by its author.

The official awards are as follows:

Jury Award for Best Children’s Film – Ages 2 and up (€200)

Jury Award for Best Children’s Film – Ages 5 and up (€200)

Jury Award for Best Children’s Film – Ages 7 and up (€200)

Jury Award for Best Children’s and Youth Film Made by Film School Students and New Directors (€200)

Jury Award for Best Children’s Short Film – Cinema and Education (€200)

2. WHICH FILMS CAN BE SUBMITTED

All audiovisual works of fiction, animation, documentary, or experimental genres produced for cinema, television, or any other audiovisual distribution platform that have been completed after January 1, 2024.

The content of the films submitted to the festival must be aimed at children and young audiences (family audiences) or be starring children and/or young people.

Short films and feature films that have won awards or been screened at other festivals or film showcases may be submitted.

To compete in the Official Section, works must be submitted before May 31, 2026, in one of the following categories:
Children’s Short Film – Ages 2 and up
(This category may include children’s short films, web series, and television content aimed at family audiences aged 2 and up. Maximum length: 12 minutes.)

Children’s Short Film – Ages 5 and up
(This category may include children’s short films, web series, and television content aimed at family audiences aged 5 and up. Maximum length: 12 minutes.)

Children’s Short Film – Ages 7 and up
(This category may include children’s short films, web series, and television content aimed at family audiences aged 7 and up. Maximum length: 12 minutes.)

Feature Film and Short Film for Children and Young Audiences Made by Film School Students and New Directors
(This category may include children’s feature films and short films created by film school students or new creators with no age limit. As 2026 marks the 78th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this category will also include short films addressing themes related to Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Maximum length for short films: 12 minutes.)

Children’s Short Film – Cinema and Education
(This category is aimed at short films made by students from primary, secondary, and high school institutions. Content that promotes values such as inclusion, coexistence, respect, tolerance, equality, environmental awareness, etc., will be especially valued. Maximum length: 12 minutes.)

3. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The official languages of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia are Basque, Spanish, and english.

a) Selection Process
Submissions must include a web link (URL) in the entry form for viewing purposes. The URL links must be private, password-protected, and accessible until November 15, 2026.

For films in languages other than Basque, Spanish, or english, Spanish or english subtit
les must be provided in .srt format or similar.

The festival organization may consider subtitling or dubbing the dialogues of short films in languages other than Basque or Spanish. Therefore, audio files, subtitles, and dialogue lists with corresponding timecodes in english or Spanish must be provided.

In the case of feature films containing dialogues in languages other than Basque, Spanish, or english, those dialogues must be previously translated into english.

b) Official Section Screening
The person responsible for the submission (director, producer, or distributor) agrees to deliver a copy of the work before July 12, 2026.
Short films must be delivered in .mp4 or .mkv format with a minimum resolution of 1900 x 1080p. Delivery should preferably be made digitally via WeTransfer, FTP, or Dropbox, as well as through the platform Festhome.

5. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The person responsible for the submission declares that they are the author or hold the rights to the submitted work.

An individual or entity may submit multiple films to the festival, but the same film may not be submitted to multiple different categories.

By submitting the film, the applicant authorizes Zinetxiki Zinemaldia to use clips from the work for promotional purposes related to the festival.
Participants temporarily grant the rights for the screening of the work in the different formats and sections of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia, including the educational section Zineskola.

If a work receives any award from Zinetxiki Zinemaldia, the awarded films must include a written reference to such recognition at the beginning and/or end of all copies distributed for commercial screenings and/or audiovisual festivals, as well as in all promotional materials. This reference must always be accompanied by the corporate image (logo and name) of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia, provided by the organization. Additionally, the award must be announced on the social media platforms used by the person responsible for the work using the hashtag #zinetxiki26 and tagging the festival’s official account @BegiraElkartea.

6. DATES AND deadlineS

May 31, 2026 – Final deadline for film submissions.

June 21, 2026 – deadline for Official Selection notification.

June 28, 2026 – Final deadline to withdraw a film from competition.

July 12, 2026 – Final deadline for delivery of the screening copy.

December 12–27, 2026 – Celebration of Zinetxiki Zinemaldia.