The Locarno Film Festival is introducing a new competitive section dedicated to films for young audiences for its 2026 edition, organizers unveiled on Thursday. “These feature films, hailing from around the globe and celebrating their world or international premieres, reflect the diverse spectrum of family-friendly cinema,” they said.
Competing for the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, the films will be judged by a youth jury with members aged 11 to 15. Seven films, all world or international premieres, have been selected for the inaugural edition of the competition, and they span various genres and cinematic traditions.
“For the first year that Locarno Kids Screenings becomes a competitive section, we have put together a program that explores the full, free range of cinematic possibilities,” said Daniela Persico, programmer for Locarno Kids Screenings. “We aimed to create a journey that is both surprising and accessible even to the youngest viewers, without shying away from the complexities of the contemporary world, while raising questions about education, the environment, and society. The young protagonists of our films – accompanied by animal guides and loyal friends – will help us discover the challenging path toward independence and highlight how asserting one’s own identity can become an asset to one’s community.” The selection includes the Swiss nature documentary Derborence the Age of Animals, such animated works as the French film Children of Liberty and the Colombian MU-KI-RA, and Mexican adventure movies The Newcomers. Also featured are the coming-of-age stories The Summer That Ended Twice from Italy and the German Paradeisa, as well as the Danish social documentary If Luck Will Come, which follows a circus for disadvantaged children in Afghanistan. Two titles will be presented out of competition, namely the Italian-Swiss production Angel Seekers, about a teenager from Ticino as she discovers the world of social action, and the French feature animation Viva Carmen, which premiered at Cannes and reimagines the opera through the eyes of street kids.
