Zlín Film Festival, also known as the International Film Festival for Children and Youth is an annual festival of children's film in Zlín in the Czech Republic, founded in 1961 in the former Czechoslovakia.

History

The first festival took place in 1961, 20 years after a previous film festival had been held in Zlín, named Film Harvest or Zliennale. The main program was held in Zlín's Grand Cinema, the largest cinema in Central Europe at that time. The capacity of the building, completed in 1932, was over 2,500. The Grand Cinema is still open today, and hosts the opening ceremony of the festival. In 1936, entrepreneur Jan Antonín Baťa founded a new film studio in the city, which gradually turned into Czechoslovakia's most prominent centre of filmmaking focused on children and youth. Film-makers such as Karel Zeman, Hermína Týrlová, Alexandr Hackenschmied, Břetislav Pojar and Josef Pinkava created their works in the Zlín film studios. The 64th edition was held from 30 May to 5 June and featured 293 films from 55 countries.

Awards