San Diego International Kids Film Festival 2026 — Carlsbad

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Most film festivals are built for adults with opinions. This one is built for the humans who have not learned to be cynical yet — and the stories it screens are better for it.

The San Diego International Kids Film Festival returns to Carlsbad for its 22nd year, screening culturally diverse films created for children and young audiences from around the world. Three days at the Schulman Auditorium and MiraCosta Concert Hall. Shorts, features, animation, live-action — all selected because they trust their young audience enough to show them something real.

The festival is not a babysitting service with a projector. It is a curated program that takes kids storytelling seriously — which means taking kids seriously, which means showing them worlds that expand who they think they can be. The kind of festival where a six-year-old from Carlsbad watches an animated short from South Korea and comes home asking questions nobody expected.

August 21 through 23, 2026. Tickets available through Ticketbud. Family-friendly programming all three days.