Kalamata Children's and Adolescents' Film Festival

After three years of great success, the Kalamata Children’s and Adolescents' Film Festival has now become an established institution for the city of Kalamata. Global children’s and youth cinema returns to Messenia in Spring 2026. Films making their Greek premiere, both short and feature-length, animation and live action from around the world, invite children and teenagers aged 3 to 18 to discover them, with free admission.

The Kalamata Children’s and Youth Film Festival (#kalyff) is an initiative of the New Film Club of Kalamata Filmhouse and its organising committee, a large group of volunteers. It is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Religious Affairs, with the support of the Municipality of Kalamata and FARIS, the Municipal Public Benefit Enterprise of Kalamata. It takes place annually, aiming to promote global creative film production for children, teenagers, and their families.

The festival’s purpose is to entertain and educate children, while highlighting the value of cinema as an important tool for enhancing their socialisation and empathy.

This year, the festival hosts a large educational zone in the mornings, inviting schools, students, and teachers to attend film screenings tailored to their themes and age groups, while also providing them with the necessary educational tools to utilise in the classroom. Approximately 1,500 students from kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the city are expected to attend screenings at the Kalamata Labour Centre Amphitheatre. The thematic sections range from human rights and the environment to inclusion and diversity, highlighting the issues children face in their interaction with their social environment.

Key highlights of the festival include parallel events, free to the public, held at the Kalamata Labour Centre Amphitheatre. In particular, on Friday, April 3rd at 12:00, EUROPE DIRECT Peloponnese, in collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Greece, the New Film Club of Kalamata, and the festival, will host a free screening of the LUX Award 2026 nominee film “Silent Love / Deaf (Sorda).” Viewers will also have the opportunity to participate in the pan-European vote for the best film.

Earlier, on Thursday, April 2nd at 20:30, in collaboration with the E.Y.T.Y.C.H.I.A. Day Centre of the Association of Parents, Guardians, and Friends of People with Autism in Messenia, the comedy “The Black Balloon” will be screened with free admission at the same venue, in the context of World Autism Awareness Day on the same day.

On Saturday evening, excitement peaks with the awards ceremony of the student competition “A Story Without Words,” followed by an original stand-up comedy performance for both parents and children. Giorgos Alevizos will attempt to answer questions that concern us all, such as: What does “growing up” really mean? Who invented the tennis scoring system? How many years of psychotherapy are enough, and when do I win a prize? Will robots eventually take our jobs? Why did we all grow up with grandmothers? And why do doctors use terms that sound like they were made to score points in Scrabble? Earlier, the short film “I Will Wait for You at Every Break,” a true and moving story created in a school in Pyrgos and awarded internationally, will be screened.

The festival concludes on Sunday morning with screenings for young children and, most notably, a unique opportunity to watch live dubbing performances by Giota Militsi and Aris Tsabalikas. In the afternoon, the Teen Group of the Messina Theatre Workshop will present the remarkable play “The Tutor” by Eleni Eftaxopoulou, for the first time in Kalamata.

Among the festival’s many activities, it is also worth mentioning the additional screenings held in schools and institutions beyond Kalamata. We look forward to welcoming everyone, young and old, to this celebration of cinema in our city.

Shhh… We’re starting!

“We want to entertain and inspire children and young people. We selected the freshest works from global film production for young audiences and created a colourful and multidimensional program. Our goal, beyond entertainment, is to open a discussion on issues such as children’s rights, diversity, respect for otherness, tolerance, girl empowerment, social and cultural differences, and family relationships.”