Each year, the Children’s Film Festival Seattle curates its Best of the Fest traveling program available to rent to venues nationwide. CFFS selects two programs — one animation and one live-action — that includes award-winning and audience favorite films from the most recent festival. These programs are intended to let youth audiences gain global awareness through the magic of film! You can learn more about the two programs below.

For this year’s Best of the Fest, CFFS is offering our two programs for a flat rental fee of $300/program for in-person screenings. We will provide you with all the film files, assets, and filmmaker contacts sent via a downloadable Google Folder. If you have any questions or are interested in booking, please email CFFS Festival Director: kendra@nwfilmforum.org

Dive into exciting adventures and vibrant colors with this joyful collection of award-winning and audience favorite short animated films from Children’s Film Festival Seattle. Follow along as different critters and kids embark on adventures of friendship, family, and learning to be yourself!

The Fox and the Pigeon feel the need to fit in – but aren’t they interesting enough, just the way they are?

(Chelsea van Tol, Tyler Pacana, Matt Walton, Morgan Thompson, Sharon Gabriella, Viktor Ivanovski & Sang Lee, Canada, 2022, 5 min, in English)

When Ezra’s classmates are confused that he’s both Black and Jewish (Blewish), Ezra gets frustrated, and decides to hide his Jewish identity to avoid more awkward conversations about it. But when he meets two other Blewish kids, he finally begins to embrace his whole identity, and decides to throw a party with them!

(Ezra Edmond, US, 2021, 4 min, nonverbal)

CW: Grief

A clown struggles to accept the inevitable demise of his balloon animals, but with the help of those around him, he gains a new perspective that helps him appreciate the present and accept the nature of change.

(Kayla Borecky, Canada, 2022, 7 min, in English)

Sadly, the T-Rex is very bad at playing basketball.

(Julia Ocker, Germany, 2022, 4 min, nonverbal)

One day, when Mama bird is away, Mel decides it’s time to learn to fly. She’s been in the nest long enough. Despite the fears of her cautious siblings, Mel takes to the sky…and plummets! A host of tree-dwelling animals try to intervene, but Mel remains committed to mastering the art of flight.

(Galen Fott, US, 2022, 7 min, in English)

CW: Bullying but ends on a hopeful note.

Pete is an animated short film based on a true story about gender identity, little league baseball, the people who inspire change by trying to be themselves, and the superheroes who allow that change to happen.

(Bret Parker, US, 2022, 6 min, in English)

Three little mouse deers live happily in Cucumber Village. When the youngest has his ball pecked flat by a chicken, his two sisters must find a way to bring back their little brother’s smile.

(Daud Nugraha, Indonesia, 2021, 4 min, in Indonesian with English subtitles [younger audience members may need help reading!])

A young girl learns to respect the land after stumbling into a sacred grove with ancient secrets.

(Nandini Rao, Nirupa Rao, Kalp Sanghvi, India, 2022, 7 min, in English & Kannada with English subtitles)

A special family of moon guardians is living on a tiny island and dealing with the ups and downs of their everyday life, and of the tide.

(Giulia Martinelli, Switzerland, 2022, 5 min, nonverbal)

Using newspaper, fabric, and lights, Sockz Theatre puts their own spin on the classic story of one lady’s remarkable digestive system.

(Christian Perry & Eric Tsuchiyama, US, 4 min, in English)

This animated short follows two best friends, Bear and Fox, and the adventures they have on the last day before Bear’s hibernation. Bear dreams of one day experiencing winter and is sad to be missing it once again. With the help of some friends, Fox creates winter in a day for Bear.

(Liddy Salter, US, 2022, 7 min, nonverbal)

See the world through the eyes of the kids in this program of award-winning and audience favorite live-action short films from Children’s Film Festival Seattle. These narrative and documentary films feature inspiring young people who go on their own adventures, discover how to be true to themselves, and confront some of life’s challenges for the first time!

What is the most important thing on the last day of school before summer break? Well, if you’re Mia, Natalie and Jabari you frantically search for a date for Ms. Cheryl, the most beloved bus driver of all time! As they race against time before their stop, these eight year-olds burst into action to try to match her up with the people that have made the biggest impact in their lives.

(Zoey Martinson, US, 2021, 10 min, in English)

Brave Girl is a young adventurer who is just beginning her journey of finding out what it takes to climb mountains. Even though she’s only 6, she has an unwavering ambition to climb the biggest mountains in the world, starting with the ones in her backyard in Wyoming.

(Mark Pedri, US, 2021, 8 min, in English)

Andrés has a huge hole in his shoe. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but the end-of-year school dance is less than a day away, and his crush Mariana wants to go with him. Andres has just one afternoon to repair his shoe or find a new pair – if he wants to impress her, he has to be dashing!

(Pedro Pablo Vega Reyes, Colombia, 2021, 15 min, in Spanish with English subtitles)

Cerebral palsy keeps Abby’s body and speaking voice from working as she’d like them to. She has a profound love for all animals, however, and dedicates herself to nonverbally training and communicating with dogs. Abby’s animals understand her well; better, in fact, than many people.

(John Urbano, US, 2022, 13 min, in English)

A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha, only to learn the meaning of sacrifice.

(Mahnoor Euceph, US, 2022, 16 min, in Urdu with English subtitles)

Jay Jay Patton was only 13 when she designed and built Photo Patch, a mobile app to help kids send photos and letters to parents who are incarcerated. The app was inspired by Jay Jay’s own experience; her dad was in prison for five years and it was difficult to communicate with him as much as she wanted.

(Samantha Knowles, US, 2021, 7 min, in English)

A teenaged immigrant finds himself at a crossroads between holding on to the promise of opportunity in America and embracing the life he left behind in Uganda.

(Laki Karavias, US, 2021, 14 min, in English & Luganda with English subtitles)