Kuki – Young Short Film Festival Berlin

Berlin's Young Short Film Festival – Sibling Festival of Interfilm

Kuki was founded in 2008 by Interfilm Berlin Management GmbH, the organiser of the major Berlin Short Film Festival Interfilm. While Interfilm is aimed at an adult audience, Kuki is explicitly designed for children and young people – with age-appropriate programming, pedagogically accompanied school screenings, and a school partner network throughout Berlin. The 19th edition runs in 2026.

Programme and Language Policy

Kuki screens around 800 submissions from all over the world annually and curates thematic programmes from them – sorted by age group. Classic Kuki programmes include: programmes for pre-school and primary school children (with live synchronisation into German), for older children, for young people (with German subtitles in the original), thematic programmes such as environmental or documentary films. All films are shown in their original language – live synchronisation or subtitles ensure that the language barrier is not an obstacle and that children are simultaneously introduced to international film culture.

Three Berlin Venues

Kuki uses three cinemas in Berlin: the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain in the district of the same name, the City Kino Wedding, and the Zeiss-Großplanetarium on Prenzlauer Allee. The geographical distribution – East, North, Northeast – is programmatic: the festival consciously seeks the audience there where cinemas still function on a neighbourhood basis, and not just in the touristy inner-city venues.

School Screenings and Public Programme

A large part of the programme runs as school screenings with registered classes, often with film discussions and educational materials – Kuki works closely with Berlin schools here. In addition, there is a public programme for families on weekends and in the evenings. Tickets for the public programme are available through the respective cinemas; prices are deliberately kept low to make family cinema affordable.