The School Cinema International Film Festival (SCIFF), one of the world’s largest children’s film festivals and a flagship initiative of School Cinema, has announced that its 10th edition will be held from November 14 to 30, 2026, with screenings hosted by schools across India.
The festival has also opened its call for entries, inviting filmmakers and independent creators from India and around the world to submit films for consideration.
Marking 15 years of School Cinema, the 2026 edition celebrates the programme’s continued use of films as a medium for life skills, social-emotional learning, cultural understanding and creative expression. According to the organisers, School Cinema currently reaches 670,796 students across 905 schools in 350 cities and 28 states.
SCIFF 2026 will feature a curated selection of live action, animation and documentary films in both short and feature-length formats. The selected films will be screened in schools, offering children aged 5 to 16 the opportunity to experience meaningful cinema in a familiar learning environment.
Festival Director of SCIFF and Founder and Chief Learner of LXL Ideas, Syed Sultan Ahmed, said films have the power to shape children’s perspectives, build empathy and inspire them to dream bigger.
“School Cinema was founded fifteen years ago on precisely this belief that every child, regardless of where they study or what resources their school has, deserves access to the world’s best stories. SCIFF is the natural extension of that belief: a platform that not only brings great cinema into classrooms but also invites filmmakers to become partners in the most important work there is, shaping the next generation,” he said.
Inviting filmmakers to participate, Ahmed added, “If your film has the power to move a child, make them think, or help them see the world through another’s eyes, we want it in our schools.”
Films completed after January 1, 2024, are eligible for submission. Entries are invited in live action, animation and documentary categories, in both short (1 to 40 minutes) and feature (over 40 minutes) formats. All dialogue-based films must include English subtitles.
Submissions must be made in .mp4 or .mov format using the H.264 codec, with HD or Full HD quality preferred. Organisers said filmmakers, by submitting their entries, consent to their films being screened on protected digital platforms in schools and used for festival promotion. Subtitles in Indian regional languages may also be requested to expand accessibility.
The submission deadline is August 15, 2026. Awards will be presented in six categories covering best live action, animation and documentary films in both feature and short formats.
In Nagaland, School Cinema is currently implemented in 11 schools across three cities, benefiting more than 5,000 students.
The organisers said previous editions of SCIFF reached more than five million children through over 41,000 government and private schools across India. The 2025 edition received support from several international film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (France), AniMela Festival (India), Giffoni Film Festival (Italy) and ZERO PLUS International Film Festival (Russia).
