
Thanks for another great Fest!
Click here for a complete list of award-winners, or explore all 2025 films below.

Kensuke’s Kingdom
Neil Boyle & Kirk Hendry
A gorgeously animated adaptation of the beloved, Robinson Crusoe-style chapter book about loss and friendship.

Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Shinnosuke Yakuwa
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.

A Boat in the Garden
Jean-François Laguionie
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
André Kadi & Karine Vézina
March 15 screening will be in English and is recommended for ages 6+. 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
Erica Tanamachi
This 2025 answer to Hoop Dreams follows a first-gen high school basketball phenom on her quest for college superstardom.

Savages
Claude Barras
From the Oscar-nominated director of NYICFF 2017’s My Life as a Zucchini comes a gorgeously animated tale of family, nature, and understanding where we come from.

Living Large
Kristina Dufková
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.

Jippie No More!
Margien Rogaar
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 preparing 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.

¡Salta!
Olga Osorio
Come for the killer ‘80s soundtrack and gorgeous Spanish seaside vistas. Stay for the wormholes and a brotherly love that spans decades (the 1940s, 1980s, and 2020s, to be exact—just not always in that order).

The Legend of Ochi
Isaiah Saxton
See it before it hits theaters! 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.

Moominvalley
Nigel Davies
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 all-new adventures.

Winners
Soleen Yusef
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.

Maya, Give Me a Title
Michel Gondry
Because Maya and her dad live in separate countries, they keep in touch via nightly calls, creating stories in which she is the star. Because Maya’s dad is renowned filmmaker Michel Gondry, we get these stories in all their inventive, stop-motion glory.

Underground
Yiannis Christoforou
The last shovelful plunges the shot into darkness.

Nube
Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada & Christian Arredondo Narvaez
A puffy white cloud realizes that her daughter, a dark stormy cloud, is in danger of raining prematurely.

Have I Swallowed Your Dreams?
Clara Chan
A poetic conversation between an immigrant daughter and her mother about sacrifices and dreams.

The Constructor
Scott Morris
Elizabeth, an impossibly precocious seven year old Lego constructor, struggles with “imagination blur” as her three year old sister attempts to free her from her rigid thinking.

Dragfox
Lisa Ott
Sam’s search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox.

Cartagène
Multiple directors
Paul relives the memories of his childhood spent with his grandfather.

Just One
Yeajoon Cho
Struggling musician Amaru meets mischievous ball of energy Shai while performing at his local community center. When Shai’s parents don’t pick him up, Amaru is tasked with taking him home. If only Shai remembered where he lives.

Scrap Fabric
Jake Munoz
Fearing disapproval, a teenage trans girl secretly sews a prom dress from her mother’s scrap fabric.

Just Little Imps
High School Students from Escola Básica Maria Pais Ribeiro A Ribeirinha, Leonor Pacheco, & Dimitri Mihajlovic
A little girl struggles to fall asleep. Every time she closes her eyes, small impish creatures appear from the darkness.

Splish, Splash, Splosh!
Lily Ward
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass—it’s about learning to dance in the rain!

Impossible Maladies
Stefano Tambellini & Alice Tambellini
Traveling by cart, Doctor Rabarbaro and his assistant Tosse travel from house to house to cure absurd illnesses with their ingenious remedies.

Amplified
Dina Nasser
When Karate star Hind has her world distorted, she sways between tenderness and pain, silence and noise, the hidden and the manifest.

The Final Day
Sofía Arbaiza Martínez
Yadira, a creative young Cuban girl, struggles packing on her final day home. Her suitcase feels too small to carry everything her heart holds.

Bug
Ali Masoumi
Parents’ actions impact the lives of children.

The Refusers
Wiep Teeuwisse
A mattress laments. An old paper dances.

Fish Thunder
Teo Nalani
A boy who wants to be as loud as thunder faces a storm, looking to contest the sky. His guardian angel fish looks over him.

Dancing in the Rain
Chao-chun Yeh
As the rain starts and a little girl falls asleep, her dream adventure begins.

Le Charade
Erika Totoro
After his final performance, a lonely mime faces a psychotic episode when his imaginary best friend breaks up with him.

My Very Own Footballer
Cheyenne Canaud-Wallays
Sylvie and Karim have given it a lot of thought. They’re buying a football player.

Jeremy, Where are the Lifejackets?
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley

América
Javier Arias-Stella
América, a 10-year-old girl from a remote Andean village, dreams of buying a bicycle so she’ll never be late to class again.

Konigiri-Kun: Connected?
Mari Miyazawa
The curious rice-ball is back, this time following a thread he can’t resist pulling…

The Interpreter
Dahiana Candelo
Nine-year-old Tatiana is fine with her role as an interpreter for Mami. She can even use it to her advantage….

Once Upon a Time in Dragonville
Marika Herz
A dragon visits Humanville and develops a taste for friendship.

Tremolo
Leondard Mink
A deaf boy and his father must find common language after a long time apart.

Aquí
Anabella Gonzalez
A girl in distress starts to physically unravel.

The Smooth-Brained Lummox
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley

Memory Lane
Seogene Lee
A look at families with loved ones suffering from dementia.

Gugusse
François Posson
Gugusse is stuck in traffic.

Quota
Job, Joris, & Marieke
When every global citizen is required to have their CO2 emissions tracked, it makes little impact…that is, until they discover the consequences of reaching their designated quota.

Mole, Mole!
Rui-Rung Su
The mole must overcome his fear of sunlight to explore the vast, beautiful world.

Animanimusical
Julia Ocker
The Animanimals want to do a big musical performance, but somebody’s got the wrong notes.

A Night at the Rest Area
Saki Muramoto
At a midnight highway rest area, weary travelers quietly relax their minds.

Fish River Anthology
Veera Lamminpää
The supermarket is about to close as the last customers are waiting their turn at the fish counter

Mojappi It’s Mine
Nijitaro
Mojappi, a trio of naughty kids who live in the forest, will do anything to get those pancakes.

Sparrows
Rémi Durin
A young monk, distracted by a sparrow, goes on the journey of his lifetime.

The Night Tunnel
Annechien Strouven
Two kids from opposite sides of the world dig to the North Pole and find a magical way home.

A Small Garden by the Window
Jonghoon Lee
Early Morning. Architect picks ripe cherry tomatoes from a small garden by the window to pack a lunchbox for work.

Weeds
Pola Razak
A gardener tends a field overgrown with weeds. What begins as an innocent encounter turns into a fight for survival and an attempt to preserve the world at any cost.

Dolores
Cecilia Andalón Delgadillo
Dolores, a 7-year-old girl who just wants to play, runs away from a fire demon and accidentally falls into a grave.

The Strange Case of the Human Cannonball
Roberto Valencia
One morning, a mysterious man is found lying in the village square. No one knows who he is, nor where he came from.

Pasos Para Volar
Nicolás Conte & Rosario Carlino
Locked in a room with a skylight, Pájaro teaches Pajarito how to fly, even though he doesn’t have wings.

The Little Ancestor
Alexa Tremblay-Francoeur
On a windswept hill, in a place still young and devoid of all life, a house builds itself.

Reni’s Worlds
Claudia Ruiz
On the first day of school, Renato finds a book about origami, a friend, and one big adventure.

Escape the Kitchen!
Isabelle Weiser
A pumpkin desperately tries to escape being baked into a pie.

Tiddler
Andy Martin & Alex Bain
Tiddler is a little fish with a big imagination.

Warrior Heart
Marianne Ulrichsen
12-year-old Vilja loves wrestling but is terrified of getting hurt. To make matters worse, Thea is the star of the wrestling club.

Have You Eaten?
Pavida Changkaew & Brina Huynh
A workaholic college student named KaiToon who is overwhelmed with her thesis. Her day consists of eating ramen and chips until she has to cook for herself.

Gottleflob’s Wobblebottom
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

Frost Giant
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley

The Human Fossil
Rebecca Huang
How will we look back on our present when it becomes history? What will be left of humanity? And how do we want to be remembered?

Whenever the Flood Arrives
Antonio Lomas Domingo
A mockumentary explores the lives of four sisters hatched from bird eggs who live completely isolated from civilization in what seems like an idyllic environment.

Corn of Wheat
Piper Bau
Nainai summons a demon to resurrect her dead grandson in exchange for a series of tributes and her life.

Hadu
Damilola Solesi
An eager young girl embarks on a culinary journey to recreate her grandma’s special recipe.

A Guest From Elsewhere
Ethan Anderson
After an unfortunate mishap, the monster’s hopes of being one with the humans is put on trial.

The Wild-Tempered Clavier
Anna Sammo
An artist insists on playing despite the world’s disasters.

Student Accomplice
Spencer Baird
Letty must learn to face her fears behind the wheel after her driving test is hijacked by an opportunistic bank robber looking for a quick getaway.

Supa Hair
Glenís Hunter
Luna has neglected her hair every since her mother died. When she attempts to tame it with an old comb, she activates its lost magic power.

Go My Way
Chelo Loureiro
All the advice Elisa receives to make Martin fall in love with her is to change not only her appearance, but also who she really is.

Burul
Adilet Karzhoev
Burul loves wrestling, but the coach won’t let her train at the boys’ gym, so she trains at home. She also gets unwanted attention from a neighborhood boy who wants to marry her.

Swimming with Butterflies
Karl Stetler
After missing bronze by 1/100th of a second at the 2016 Paralympic games, Austin-based swimmer Lizzi Smith shares what’s bringing her back to the pool—and bringing hope to the next generation.

Capybaras
Alfredo Soderguit
It’s hunting season. Seeking refuge, a family of capybaras and a group of hens form a union that leads to unexpected consequences.

Nana Carmen
Kaila Gutierrez

Awaiting the Lightning Bolt
Marco Russo
An eccentric Renaissance inventor dares the impossible: capturing a lightning in a jar.

Yuri’s Way of Enjoying Life
Di Florentino
Yuri’s parents came from the Democratic Republic of Congo and are very proud of their roots. He celebrates his culture by performing “La Sape.”

Hello Summer
Martin Smatana & Veronika Zacharová
Sea, sun, beaches. Sounds great. But what if your room has a naughty view, dinner is strange, and your luggage travels somewhere else without you?

The Girl with the Occupied Eyes
André Carrilho
Over hill and dale (and beach, and space), only one thing can capture her attention.

My Fairy Godmother
Bea de Silva
Just when it seems she’s going to spend her birthday on her own, someone very special tries to cheer Marta up: her Fairy Godmother.

Bat Boy
Aaron Lemle
One day, when his beloved bats go missing, Andre enlists the help of a jaded biologist to find out what happened.

The Drifting Guitar
Sophie Roze
A tie-selling weasel roams the countryside and decides to take a chance in the forest thanks to the unconditional help of a hedgehog.

Long Journey
Héctor Herce
If Nico wants his gift, he will have to climb his grandmother’s highest sideboard, fight a duel of loaves of bread, and face his biggest challenge yet.

Ronny: A Crocumentary
Abbey Collings
A frog documents Ronny, a friendly crocodile who just wants a hug.

The Silk-Winged Snart
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

The Wind in Your Hair
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

Hairy Scary
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

Roger is Awake
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

The Haunting Call of a Majestic Beast (Steven)
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).

A Captured Loose-Leaf Steven
Ryan Corniel, Joel Veitch, & Nathaniel Tapley
The Gleeful Beasts are a motley bunch of incompetent but lovable characters. Journey with us into their wonderful world (keep your eyes peeled for these delightful monsters sprinkled throughout all of NYICFF’s short film programs).
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