UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival

To take stock of the dynamic forces shaping childhood and promote deep reflection on the experiences of children in different contexts, we held the second UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival (UIFF) from 21 – 24 October 2021.

Childhood is a universal theme that filmmakers return to, again and again, to connect audiences to memories of the forces that shape human lives in the earliest years. The aim of UIFF is to curate the best world cinema narratives of childhood, especially from younger artists, though submissions are accepted from filmmakers of any age.

UIFF was presented in Florence, Italy through a mixture of live socially distanced screening programmes at Cinema La Compagnia and virtual screenings streamed on demand on MyMovies.it. Public dialogue between cinema artists, UNICEF experts and the public were organized after all screening programmes. 

UIFF IN PICTURES

Thanks to everyone who made the UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival so inspiring and exciting. Relive the best moments through our photo gallery!

THE IRIS AWARD

On each day of the festival we organized an early evening programme consisting of a diverse selection of short fiction and non-fiction films, followed by a primetime programme of a short film and a major feature presentation. Between four to six carefully curated films on childhood from all corners of the world were shown each day.

Films were available online at MyMovies.it throughout the Festival and had English and Italian subtitles. All live and online events will be free of cost.

Our programme included a wonderful diversity of cinematic stories, both fiction and non-fiction, from across the globe. 

Download programme

2021 was the 75^th anniversary of the founding of UNICEF, and UIFF has played a special role in celebrating this milestone. An online exhibit of iconic historical films of the past 75 years was presented. Our grand prize award – UNICEF75 – was given to the best film in the festival. Completing the anniversary celebrations, the UNICEF75 award was presented by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Amita Suman.

The on demand historical film exhibit featured celebrated films focusing on the deeper aspects of children’s development from each of the eight decades of UNICEF’s existence (1940’s through 2010’s). Well-known classics, as well as unseen gems, were available to stream. 

UNICEF Innocenti held its inaugural film festival in 2019. This celebration of global cinema on childhood uncovered a rich and diverse body of work with the potential to spark deep thinking about the realities children face around the world.

Official selection

Photo Gallery