PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The School Cinema International Film Festival (SCIFF) 2026 will be hosted by schools across India from November 14 to 30. The festival has also opened its call for entries, inviting filmmakers and independent creators from India and across the world to submit films for consideration. According to School Cinema officials, it currently reaches over 6,70,796 students across 905 schools in 350 cities and 28 States, making it one of India’s most widely implemented film-based learning programmes. SCIFF 2026 invites films that speak to and for children and young people. The festival offers filmmakers an opportunity to present their work to enthusiastic and formative audiences aged 5–16 years in schools across India. SCIFF festival director Syed Sultan Ahmed said, “Films are among the most powerful teachers we have ever known. A single story, told well, can shift a child’s perspective, build their empathy, and inspire them to dream bigger. School Cinema was founded fifteen years ago on precisely this belief that every child, regardless of where they study or what resources their school has, deserves access to the world’s best stories. As we mark 15 years of School Cinema’s journey, SCIFF 2026 is our invitation to storytellers everywhere- if your film has the power to move a child, make them think, or help them see the world through another’s eyes, we want it in our schools,” he said. Filmmakers are invited to submit their entries for SCIFF 2026 at https://filmfreeway.com/SchoolCinemaInternationalFilmFestival with August 15 being the deadline. In Uttarakhand, School Cinema is currently implemented in 24 schools across three cities, impacting over 12,000 students.
