I have been on the board of the New York Int'l Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) for many years, becoming board president more than two years ago. What is NYICFF, you might ask? Is it just a bunch of silly kids cartoons? (NO) Is it just a festival? (NO) Well what, then? Well, thanks for asking. 

We are a year-round arts organization with programs for families, students, teachers, filmmakers, and curators. Our mission is rooted in the belief that film is a pathway for young people to better understand themselves and others. As such, all programs are intentionally designed to celebrate and amplify unique, diverse, and often historically excluded voices, and to serve those same populations. It’s for the child in each of us. I am so disheartened by the spread of hate speech, the “othering” of people and cultures different from us, by the general narrowing of points of view, that I believe very deeply that we need to do everything we can to open minds to all that is different and beautiful. The child in me is delighted and surprised and moved and enriched by what NYICFF brings. It can do the same for you and your children.