5th Script Development Contest by ATHICFF & Cinekid Festival
Are you a professional screenwriter with a great idea for a script aimed at children aged 3 to 12?
For the fifth consecutive year, the Athens International Children’s Film Festival, in collaboration with Cinekid (Netherlands), announces the Script Development Competition for children’s films or series aimes at ages 3-12.
The winner of the Greek competition will receive, from the Athens International Children’s Film Festival, a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to participate in the Cinekid Script LAB, the most renowned European script development program for children’s content. The program lasts for six months and includes in-person meetings in Amsterdam and Berlin, as well as online sessions throughout the duration of the program.
The deadline for submitting proposals is May 12, 2026.
To date, four Greek filmmakers – Zacharias Mavroeidis, Alexandros Rellos, Effie Pappa, and Irida Zhonga – have received scholarships from the Athens International Children’s Film Festival and have participated in the six-month Cinekid Script LAB program for the development of their screenplays.
The scripts will be evaluated by a three-member committee, consisting of:
Lefteris Fylaktos – Head of Culture, Education, and Children’s Programming for ERT
Maria Kontogianni – Producer, Founder of Wild At Heart
Irida Zhonga – Director, Producer
Irida Zhonga, who received last year’s scholarship for her script project “NATURAL SELECTION”, remarks:
“My participation in the Cinekid Script Lab was instrumental in the development of my series Natural Selection. Within a highly organized and supportive environment, I had the opportunity to work intensively on the pilot episode script, delve deeper into the characters, and explore the narrative tone of the series, with guidance from distinguished tutors such as Aleksandra Świerk. […] The Cinekid Script Lab proved to be a space for growth, both for the project and for me as a creator, functioning as a creative milestone that gave me clarity, confidence, and enthusiasm for the next steps of the series.”
The Athens International Children’s Film Festival has taken significant initiatives for the development, reinforcement, and global outreach of audiovisual content production for children within Greece. Initiatives include hosting the ATHICFF for Professionals meeting every November, producing a short film for teenagers as part of Eleusis Cultural Capital of Europe, and organizing the International Screenplay Development Program Kids Kino Lab (Warsaw Kids Film Forum).
The Cinekid Script LAB Screenplay Development Competition is supported by the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center Creative Greece.
A few words about Cinekid Script LAB
It is an intensive six-month screenplay development program with two face-to-face meetings in Amsterdam and Berlin and intermediate online seminars with trainers of recognized value and extensive experience in the audiovisual field and children’s content. Learn more here.
* This contest is open to Greek projects only.
** Find out more about the contest, the application process and the T&C here (in Greek).
*** Find out more about the Cinekid Script LAB here.