One of my favorite film stories of the last year has been the success of “Flow,” a critical darling and Oscar nominee for both Best Animated Feature and Best International Film. The funny thing is I think the movie itself is a tick overrated, but I don’t care because it feels like that cute cat could knock down some of the barriers that keep children’s entertainment in such silly boxes. Kids are open to filmmaking from around the world, and it doesn’t just have to be Studio Ghibli. One of the best events on the festival calendar when it comes to expanding the minds of both young and old viewers is the New York International Children’s Film Festival, an event at four venues in the city that runs basically for the first half of March.
Highlights this year include the second festival appearance of the very fun “The Legend of Ochi,” which I already reviewed in full at that link and I look forward to seeing again when it hits theaters. It’s a charmer, a throwback to an era of filmmaking that I miss.
The two films that I was most excited to see should be big draws for NYICFF: Michel Gondry’s “Maya, Give Me a Title” and Claude Barras’ “Sauvages.” The former is a personal project for the visionary director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” who uses ideas from his daughter Maya to craft inventive pieces of animated storytelling. The latter is the first film from the director of 2017’s stellar “My Life as a Zucchini,” one of my fave stop-motion films of its era. That I was a bit disappointed in both feels like something not worth digging into too deeply in a piece like this given how much I love the overall vibe of NYICFF. That can wait for another day. If you’re a fan of Gondry or “Zucchini,” they’re still worth seeing, and you can do so earlier than anyone.
Other highlights I would see if I were in the Big Apple include opening night selection “Hola, Frida,” “Home Court,” “Kensuke’s Kingdom,” and “Totto Chan: The Little Girl at the Window.”
Find all the details below, get tickets here, and maybe you can see the next “Flow” before any of your friends:
FEATURE FILM PROGRAM
A BOAT IN THE GARDEN
Slocum et moi
FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Jean-François Laguionie, 2024, 76 min.
Recommended ages 8+
In French with English subtitles
1940s France, near the Marne river. François is as bit adrift until he and his father embark on a project: to build a replica of a legendary navigator’s boat together. Another lyrical tale from the great Jean-François Laguionie (NYICFF 2017, 2012).
HOLA, FRIDA
OPENING NIGHT
CANADA, FRANCE | US PREMIERE
André Kadi and Karine Vézina, 2024, 82 min.
Recommended ages 7+
In Spanish with English subtitles
This is the story of a girl who is different. Her world is Coyoacán, in Mexico City. Sparkling and vibrant, everything fascinates her. Say hola to Frida Kahlo.
HOME COURT
UNITED STATES, CAMBODIA | NEW YORK CITY PREMIERE
Erica Tanamachi, 2024, 98 min.
Recommended ages 10+
In English and Khmer with English subtitles
This 2025 answer to Hoop Dreams follows a first-gen high school basketball phenom on her quest for college superstardom.
JIPPIE NO MORE!
NETHERLANDS | NEW YORK PREMIERE
Margien Rogaar, 2024, 95 min.
Recommended ages 10+
In Dutch with English subtitles
Jippie’s sister is getting married, and the whole family is helping with the celebration. The good dishes are out, decorations are set, and Jippie is prepared for the performance of a lifetime. But when he falls in love for the first time, his attention is no longer on his big gig.
KENSUKE’S KINGDOM
UNITED KINGDOM, LUXEMBOURG, FRANCE | ICYMI FEST FLASHBACK
Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry, 2023, 84 min.
Recommended ages 8+
In English
Missed NYICFF 2024’s Grand Prize winning feature? Now’s your chance: catch the return of this audience favorite, Robinson Crusoe-style adventure, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo.
THE LEGEND OF OCHI
CENTERPIECE
UNITED STATES | EAST COAST PREMIERE
Isaiah Saxon, 2025, 96 min.
Recommended ages 9+
In English
In a remote northern village, Yuri is raised to never go outside and to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.
LIVING LARGE
ŽIVOT K SEŽRÁNÍ
CZECH REPUBLIC, FRANCE | EAST COAST PREMIERE
Kristina Dufková, 2024, 80 min.
Recommended ages 9+
In English
Ben is charming, funny, and in a seriously cool rock band with his friends. But growing up is hard, and one little problem turns out to be bigger than he bargained for.
MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE
Maya, donne-moi un titre
SPOTLIGHT
FRANCE | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Michel Gondry, 2024, 61 min.
Recommended ages 8+
In French with English subtitles
Because Maya’s dad is always traveling, they keep in touch via nightly calls, creating stories in which she is the star. Because Maya’s dad is also renowned filmmaker Michel Gondry, we get these stories in all their inventive, stop-motion glory.
MOOMINVALLEY
FINLAND, UNITED KINGDOM | US PREMIERE
Nigel Davies, 2024, 66 min.
Recommended ages 5+
In English
Just in time to celebrate their 80th anniversary (and they don’t look a day over…however old they’re supposed to be!), our Moominfriends return for more adventures. Celebrate with three all-new stories from the world of Moominvalley.
¡SALTA!
SPAIN | US PREMIERE
Olga Osorio, 2023, 85 min.
Recommended ages 8+
In Spanish with English subtitles
Come for the killer ‘80s soundtrack and gorgeous Spanish seaside vistas. Stay for the wormholes and a brotherly love that spans decades (1940s, 1980s, and 2020s, to be exact—just not always in that order).
SAVAGES
SAUVAGES
SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, BELGIUM
Claude Barras, 2024, 87 min.
Recommended ages 7+
In French with English subtitles
From the Oscar-nominated director of NYICFF 2017’s My Life as a Zucchini comes a gorgeously animated tale of family, nature, and understanding our roots.
TOTTO CHAN: THE LITTLE GIRL AT THE WINDOW
窓ぎわのトットちゃん
SPOTLIGHT
JAPAN | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Shinnosuke Yakuwa, 2023, 114 min.
Recommended ages 8+
In Japanese with English subtitles
Based on the beloved memoir—now required reading in many Japanese elementary schools—Totto-Chan is the powerful story of an imaginative girl learning to be herself even as the world around her changes.
WINNERS
SIEGER SEIN
GERMANY | NEW YORK PREMIERE
Soleen Yusef, 2024, 119 min.
Recommended ages 10+
In German with English subtitles
After leaving Syria for Berlin, Mona is struggling to find her footing. School is chaotic. Her mean-girl classmates all hail from other countries, and she barely knows any German. What she does know is soccer, but it’s going to take a lot more than skills to bring the team together.
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
SHORTS FOR TOTS
Recommended ages 3-6
Created for our youngest and first-ever moviegoers, but beloved by grown-ups, Shorts for Tots is sure to delight all audiences.
SHORT FILMS ONE
Recommended ages 5-10
Whether you’re a baby chick who’s flown the coop, a budding Lego master, or just out for a movie, there’s lots to get into in Short Films One.
SHORT FILMS TWO
Recommended ages 8-14
Spending the week at a new house? Traveling the land with your ties and guitar? Waiting for the bus? Let Short Films Two take you away.
SHORT FILMS THREE
Recommended ages 12+
Shorts for our older crowd: teens and grown-ups only.
CELEBRATING BLACK STORIES
Recommended ages 9+
Shorts from around the world that embrace the joy, resilience, and complexity of being young and Black.
GIRLS’ POV
Recommended ages 10+
Not just for girls! These shorts feature stories of girls breaking the mold.
HEEBIE JEEBIES
Recommended ages 9+
Wild, spooky, freaky, and bizarre…prepare to have your mind blown.
¡HOLA CINE!
Recommended ages 9+
Latinx stories from around the world, and not just in Spanish, celebrating the many Latinx cultures, histories, identities and languages.
