The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival is set to light up the screens of the Oriental and Downer theaters April 16-30.

 The Rated K: For Kids program, presented by Marianne and Sheldon Lubar, and sponsored by Milwaukee With Kids, offers a selection of award-winning features and shorts from around the world, recommended for ages 3-12. 

Future Council (dir. Damon Gameau, 2024, Australia) 
Seeking solutions for a greener world, documentarian Damon Garneau assembles a group of the world’s most innovative thinkers—who also happen to be kids. Brilliantly flipping climate anxiety into tear-jerking heaps of hope, FUTURE COUNCIL chronicles eight middle-school activists on the ultimate field trip: traversing Europe in a yellow school bus to visit the natural wonders they aim to save, learn from each other, and challenge real world leaders to fight for their future. AGES 10+

Kids Shorts: Size Small 
Packed to its teeny-tiny brim with stories sure to inspire wonder in our teeniest-tiniest audiences (maybe even for their first time in-theater!), this collection of shorts will have our littlest ones experiencing the awe of cinema in a kaleidoscope of dancing, early life lessons, and an Evel Knievel weevil. AGES 3+

Kids Shorts: Size Medium 
As our youngest move into the next phase of their childhood, these films similarly start to expand in story, style, and heart: a lonely polar bear making a new friend out of snow, a young gamer learning to love his indigenous culture, and, of course, garden gnomes. AGES 6+

Kids Shorts: Size Large
Between the smallest warrior finding big hope for peace, a boy saving his Nainai’s dumpling shop, and a sparrow NOT looking up to an ostrich, these shorts for big kids will take them around the world to see how others are stepping into tween-dom with wisdom, bravery, and laughter.  AGES 10+

Please note: Dates and times are subject to change, and occasionally events may be cancelled. Please check the event website to confirm the latest details.