FESTIVAL 2026
We are delighted to announce our new, two-day Family Film Festival which will take place on 26 & 27 of September at the Hayes Village Hall. Our festival celebrates children's stories and films from all over the world.
Expect a packed programme with short animations curated by our Young Programmers team, family films, lots of creative workshops including animation, arts and crafts, special effects make-up and more. Each ticket includes a film and a creative activity. Our festival café is open when you need a break with drinks, cakes and snacks available throughout the day.
Tickets are now available on Eventbrite HERE. Please note that both children and adults need tickets.
Films & Activities
Saturday 26 September
SHORT ANIMATIONS
We kick off the festival with a delightful selection of short animations for our youngest audience members, specially chosen by our Young Programmers. They’ve been busy watching, discussing and debating films to create an engaging programme full of stories, characters and adventures for little ones to discover. The screening is introduced by our young programmers.
SHORTS Portugal, Switserland, Brazil, Belgium, UK
Recommended ages: all ages
Films: 10am - 11am
Animation activities: 10am-12pm
Largely without dialogue
Tickets: HERE
GET ANIMATING!
During the festival, children can get hands-on with the magic of animation and try out a range of different techniques. Create your own flipbook, bring drawings to life as a GIF, or experiment with stop-motion animation to make objects move and tell your own story.
From simple analogue techniques to digital animation, these activities are a chance to play, experiment and discover how still images can come alive.
No need to purchase extra tickets as your 'Short Animation' film ticket gives access to the workshop.
HOLA FRIDA
Hola Frida! takes us back to Frida Kahlo's childhood in Coyoacán, Mexico, long before she became the world-famous artist we know today. This sparkling animation introduces young audiences to Frida’s colourful imagination, her determination and the early experiences that shaped her later life as an artist and feminist icon.
HOLA FRIDA!
2025, France
Running time: 1hr: 22mins
Tickets include a film and a creative activity
CRAFT ACTIVITY
After the film, we invite you and your child to get creative and make your own Frida-inspired self-portrait using mixed media and collage.
What will your Frida-inspired masterpiece look like?
Create your own work of art to take home!
Recommended ages: 5+
Film: 11:30 - 1:00pm
Craft activity: 1:00 - 2:00pm
English version
Tickets: HERE
ARCO (PG)
We finish our first day with a screening of one of our favourite films this year: Arco (cert. PG) .
Arco comes from a family of time travellers who leave glowing rainbows across the sky, created by the prisms in their costumes. Desperate to see dinosaurs but too young to travel alone, Arco secretly borrows his sister's costume and crash-lands in the year 2075. In the chaos, he loses the prism he needs to return home. With the help of his new friend Iris and her robot Miki, Arco sets out to find it and make his way back to his own time.
ARCO
2025, France
Running time: 1hr 28mins
Tickets include a film and a creative activity
CRAFT ACTIVITY
After the film, join us for a fun creative workshop exploring how light, colour and movement can create magical optical effects.
Peek through our specially designed giant kaleidoscope and experiment with mirrors, patterns and prisms to discover how light transforms the world around us. Then design and make your own rainbow kaleidoscope and colourful spinning top to take home.
Recommended ages: From 6+ (PG)
Film: 2:30 - 4:00pm
Craft Activity: 4:00 - 5:00pm
English spoken
Tickets: HERE
COFFEE, TEA, CAKE AND CRAFTS
Take a break and relax in our festival café area where drinks, cakes and snacks are available throughout the day.
Children can also enjoy some simple creative activities while you wait for your film to start or unwind after an event.
There’s no extra ticket needed as your film ticket gives you access to the café area throughout the festival.
Sunday 27 September
CINEMINI
Our Sunday programme starts with a special cinema experience designed for our youngest audience members. Bring your toddler (ages 2–5) and discover the magic of cinema together through a playful mix of short films, sensory activities and creative exploration.
CINEMINI is a welcoming and relaxed first film experience for young children and their grown-ups. Through light, shadow, colour, reflections and movement, children are invited to explore the world of film beyond the screen, with plenty of opportunities to play, discover and respond in their own way.
There’s no need to sit still or be quiet, this is cinema made for little ones, where curiosity and creativity are part of the experience.
Recommended ages: Under 5
Time: 10am-11:30am (film programme 2x15mins + sensory play)
Dialogue free films
Tickets: HERE
SHORT ANIMATIONS
We continue our short film programme with another special selection of films curated by our Young Programmers. This time the films come from the Czech Republic, courtesy of the Zlin Film Festival.
The screening is introduced by our young programmers.
SHORTS Zlín Film Festival presents: Czech Animation
Recommended ages: all ages
Animation activities: 11:30-12:30pm
Films: 12:30 - 13:30
No dialogue
Tickets: HERE
GET ANIMATING!
During the festival, children can get hands-on with the magic of animation and try out a range of different techniques. Create your own flipbook, bring drawings to life as a GIF, or experiment with stop-motion animation to make objects move and tell your own story.
From simple analogue techniques to digital animation, these activities are a chance to play, experiment and discover how still images can come alive.
No need to purchase extra tickets as your 'Short Animation' film ticket gives access to the workshop.
SLAPSTICK SCREENING & LIVE PIANO
Our festival concludes with a crowdpleaser for the whole family: a slapstick movie with live piano score played by world renowned pianist (and regular guest at Small World Cinema) John Sweeney.
Get ready for a brilliant dose of silent-screen comedy with Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr., a wonderfully inventive film full of with physical comedy, clever visual gags and plenty of cinematic magic.
Keaton plays a humble projectionist who is framed for stealing a pocket watch by a rival suitor. After being thrown out, he returns to the cinema and falls asleep on the job, dreaming himself into the film playing on screen, and into the role of the dashing detective, Sherlock Jr.
What follows is a wonderfully playful adventure as Keaton’s unlikely hero attempts to solve the crime and clear his name.
SHERLOCK JNR
Running time: 45 mins
1924, USA
CRAFT ACTIVITY
Before the film, step back into the Victorian era and discover the magic of early moving images. Get creative and make your own optical toys, including zoetropes and thaumatropes and see how moving images were created long before the cinema screen.
Recommended ages: all ages (U)
Craft Activity: 2:00 - 3:00pm
Film: 3:00-4:00pm
Silent movie with occasional intertitles and live piano score
Tickets: HERE
COFFEE, TEA, CAKE AND CRAFTS
Take a break and relax in our festival café area where drinks, cakes and snacks are available throughout the day.
Children can also enjoy some simple creative activities while you wait for your film to start or unwind after an event.
There’s no extra ticket needed as your film ticket gives you access to the café area throughout the festival.
Our Sponsors
Our Festival is supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London. Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery. www.filmlondon.org.uk/filmhub.
