The 2nd Short Film Competition for Children and Youth is here!
The Cyprus Film Days for Children and Youth Festival 2025 
announces the 2nd National Short Film Competition.

Following the great success of last year's event, the Short Film Competition, for children and youth, returns this year with the aim of achieving an even greater number of participations and even more creative and high-quality films.

The competition is held with the approval of the Ministry of Education and Culture Sports and Youth, as part of the 23^rd Cyprus Film Days International Festival 2025, co-organized by the Department of Contemporary Culture of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and the Rialto Theatre. The festival will take place from April 4 to April 13 2025, in Nicosia and Limassol.

The Department of Contemporary Culture of the Deputy Ministry of Culture has been monitoring the festival and its various programs since its inception, certifying their high quality and their importance for the perceptual, cognitive, and aesthetic maturation of young audiences.

We thank our Main Sponsors: K Cineplex, JOEY Banking app (for children and teens aged 9-17).  We also thank our sponsors, UCLan Cyprus, British Council, Columbia Beach Resort, Pizza Hut, ENA Juices, The Film and Stage Studio, our supporters, The Cyprus Directors' Guild and the French Institute, as well as our Media Sponsors, Alpha Cyprus and Avant Garde.

Participation Terms 

Eligible participants include students from Primary School (10-12 years old), Gymnasium, Lyceum, as well as young people up to 24 years old, with permanent residence in the Republic of Cyprus.

Participation Categories

For Primary School students (10 to 12 years old)
For Gymnasium students
For Lyceum students
For young people aged 18 to 24

Competition Theme 

Equity: Focusing on equality, the films should celebrate the richness of diverse cultures, identities, religions, and histories, as well as the uniqueness of every individual. Differences in gender, color, language, or possible disabilities should serve as a basis for creating bridges that connect people and emphasize their uniqueness. The films should promote inclusion and recognize the value that diverse backgrounds bring to society. They should act as catalysts for social change, sparking discussions about equality and providing a platform for important social issues. Through the entertaining process of creating a film, critical thinking and reassessment of beliefs and biases are encouraged, in order to enhance empathy, understanding, and a sense of a more equitable world.

Film Specifications

• Theme: Equity
• Maximum duration: 2 minutes (the running time does not include the End credits)
• Format: mp4
• The film must include: Opening title, End credits (listing all contributors such as director, screenwriter, actors, etc.).

To assist with participation in the competition, our team has prepared an electronic guide (in Greek/English) that explains in a simple way the specifications and the process of preparing the film.

How to shoot your first film

Submission Process

1. Complete the Participation Declaration

2. Send the film via WeTransfer to the email cyprusfilmdaysyouth@gmail.com The deadline for submission is March 20, 2025, at 23:59.

Evaluation 

All films will be evaluated by a nine-member jury, composed of professionals from the film industry, chaired by actress Agni Scott, with members Smaro Papaevangelou, Kleitos Kleitou, Marios Ioannou, Panagiotis Margetis, Prokopis Agathokleous, Dimitra Barla, Yannis Sakarides and Menos Deliotzakis. 

Awards – Sponsors

Three awards will be given in each of the following categories as follows:

• Columbia Kids Awards
  1st, 2nd, and 3rd Best Directing/Screenplay Award for Primary School (2nd Cycle 10 – 12 years old)
  – Sponsored by Columbia Beach Resort.
  1st Award: Camera
  2nd Award: €500
  3rd Award: Overnight stay for a four member family at the Columbia Beach Resort.
• 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Best Directing/Screenplay Award for Gymnasium
  – Sponsored by K Cineplex with free entry tickets (invitations) of 30, 20, and 10 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd awards respectively. 
  – Sponsored by The Film and Stage Studio with free Filmmaking classes of 8, 6, and 4 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd awards respectively. 
• 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Best Directing/Screenplay Award for Lyceum 
  - Sponsored by UCLan Cyprus with three scholarships (50% for the 1st award and 40% for the 2nd and 3rd awards) for a Bachelor degree in the School of Arts, Media, and Communication for the first year, with the scholarship continuing for subsequent years, provided that students maintain a general accademic year grade of 70%.
  – Sponsored by British Council. 1^st award: free participation in IELTS exam, 2^nd and 3^rd award: free participation in APTIS exam. 
• 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Best Directing/Screenplay Award for young people up to 24 years old 
  - Sponsored by K Cineplex. The awarded films will be screened in K Cineplex cinemas in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos, before the screening of feature films for a period of one year, six months, and three months, respectively.
• Note – Submissions can be made by individuals or groups, but the 12 awards mentioned above will be given to the individual who signs the directing and screenwriting of each film (one person).

Awards Ceremony 

The Awards Ceremony will take place at the K Cineplex Prime (Strovolos), on April 6, 2025, at 18:00 - 20:00, in the presence of the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Dr. Athenas Michaelidou and all participants and awardees.

Following the awards ceremony, the award-winning film "Lars is Lol" will be screened. It is with mentioning that the film recently won the European Children's Film Association (ECFA) award for Best Children's Film. (20:00 - Free entry).

Copyright, Personal Data, Financial Responsibility:

• The copyright of the films belongs to the teams that created them. Schools are responsible for ensuring the personal data of students (the written consent of parents is required for including student details in the credits).
• Any support from external collaborators should not be linked to marketing, advertising, or promotion of commercial products, nor to free distribution, circulation, or sale of any kind of material (print or otherwise).
• There will be no revenue for the organizations announcing the competition (or for others) from the submitted works, and the use of the works will be strictly for Festival purposes.
• Films may be screened online by the creators only after the conclusion of the competition and the completion of the Awards Ceremony and the screening of the films at K Cineplex and the Rialto Theatre, as part of the Festival.
• Participation by students is optional, and the Festival will not have financial responsibility for the production costs of the films.
• The organization will handle all aspects of the competition and will ensure the personal data of the creators are protected in accordance with applicable legislation.

Information

• Via the Festival's website: cyprusfilmdays.com
• Via email: cyprusfilmdaysyouth@gmail.com 
• By phone: 70008242. 

Watch highlights from last year's Festival in the Highlights video CFD 2024