Make the Theater Your Classroom
Our curated film programs and FilmEd experience—including audience voting, post-screening discussions, and Q&As led by a Festival educator—provide students with a thought-provoking, fun, and dynamic way to explore timely and important topics like race, identity, and belonging. Teachers receive pre-visit and post-visit discussion guides that encourage creativity and critical-thinking through vocabulary, discussion questions, and activity prompts.
Why field trips?
FilmEd Field Trips offer the same energetic, participatory atmosphere of the annual Festival that engages students in a lively learning environment. Our programs are available for grades K-2 and 3-5 and utilize short films that celebrate the beauty and complexity of our world while emphasizing the experiences of underrepresented characters and filmmakers. NYICFF’s nearly 30 years of curatorial excellence ensures that selected films have been created by a diverse group of international filmmakers and feature characters not often found on or behind the screen—namely women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA, the disabled, and other historically excluded communities. Screenings take place in multiple venues and libraries in order to meet classes in their own neighborhoods.
Admission is $10/student for most schools. Admission for Title I schools is free.
Upcoming Field Trips
Grades K–2
Wed December 3 FULL
Bronx Library Center
Mon January 12, 2026 FULL
Quad Cinema (Manhattan)
Thurs January 15 FULL
Queens Public Library (Central)
Fri January 23
Brooklyn Public Library (Central)
Fri April 24
Brooklyn Public Library (Central)
Wed April 29
Bronx Library Center
Tue May 5
IFC Center (Manhattan)
Thurs May 7
Queens Public Library (Central)
Fri May 15
Brooklyn Public Library (Central)
Grades 3–5
Fri December 5 FULL
Brooklyn Public Library (Central)
Tues December 9 FULL
IFC Center (Manhattan)
Thurs December 11 FULL
Queens Public Library (Central)
Tues December 16
SVA Theatre (Manhattan)
Wed January 14, 2026 FULL
Bronx Library Center
Tue February 3
IFC Center (Manhattan)
Fri February 6
Brooklyn Public Library (Central)
Wed February 11
Bronx Library Center
Thurs February 12
Queens Public Library (Central)
Wed June 3
Bronx Library Center
Venues
Dual-Language & Festival Field Trips
We offer a select number of field trips during the course of the March Festival. These trips consist of one feature film and, when possible, a filmmaker Q&A (either in person or virtually). These trips are a great opportunity for schools with dual language programs, but all schools are welcome.
All Festival trips will take place at SVA Theatre in Manhattan and will begin between 10 and 10:30am. See last year's lineup below for examples of past trips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our 2024-25 FilmEd program is supported by a generous gift from the Barry-Thouez Family in honor of Jeremy Attia.
Jeremy was a passionate audio-visual technician from France, where he was frequently dispatched to cover the Cannes Film Festival. He loved the camaraderie of film and TV sets, and approached every opportunity with a wide open heart. Jeremy passed away in June 2021 after battling cancer for four years.