This October, Cinekid welcomes 16 writers from eight countries to the 4th edition of the Cinekid Script LAB, a four-month project-driven initiative focussing on the development of scripts for children’s films. LAB gatherings will take place in Amsterdam and Berlin.
Until now, participating screenwriters have always been nominated by partnering institutes. This year, for the first time, an open call was issued. With amazing results: in addition to the six projects selected by the institutes and Cinekid, seven further projects will get the full Script LAB treatment.
A list of all selected projects and participating writers can be found here.
Why do people migrate from one country to another? What is life in refugee camps all about? What are the implications of being deaf? What does it mean to launch homophobic attacks at school? How does seeking asylum in another country impact on one’s identity? What is “identity” anyway, for each of us? 
The Int. Children Film Festival of Valencia called Ficiv (Festival Int. de Cine Infantil de Valencia, founded in 2015) is a multilingual festival, trying to bring cinematographic culture to the world of youngsters and convince children (aged 3-12) that cinema is an art form worth being explored. Ficiv wants to create cultural awareness through entertainment. 
The SIFFCY Film Festival & Forum (Smile Int. Film Festival for Children & Youth) is scheduled from 11-17 December 2017 in the Sirifort Auditorium, New Delhi, India. With an objective to sensitise children and youth through meaningful films and film-related activities. This week-long festival caters to the age group 6-25 years with more than 120 films and workshops. 
After the ECFA Award and ECFA Doc Award, ECFA is ready to launch yet another prize that should generate more attention for European children’s film in all its aspects. After a proposal launched by the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, ECFA would love to convince more member festivals to soon hand out an ECFA Short Film Award. 
Besides screening a festival programme containing more than 160 titles the Schlingel Int. Film Festival for Children & Young Audience, currently taking place in Chemnitz, also takes a pioneer’s position in organising the first Schlingel Industry Forum on 28 & 29 September.