Cinekid opens 10 October: Amsterdam runs only to the 16th, so Midden and Zuid families need a local cinema

Cinekid is the Dutch children's film and media festival, and the 2026 edition opens on 10 October. It runs on two timelines, and that is the part worth getting right. The Amsterdam edition sits at Pathé Amsterdam Noord and lasts only from 10 to 16 October, while more than forty film theatres across the country run their own programme until 25 October. Whether either timeline matches your autumn break depends on your region: the government's advisory dates are 10 to 18 October for regio Noord and 17 to 25 October for regio Midden and regio Zuid. In plain terms, a family in Utrecht, Rotterdam or The Hague is on holiday in the week the Amsterdam edition has already closed, and should look at the local-cinema line instead. Tickets start at €7.50 for one film. Check your region's dates first, then pick a screening.

• You have to subtract to find what the MediaLab really costs. A film ticket is €7.50 and a combination ticket for film plus MediaLab starts at €12.50, so the MediaLab itself is about €5. Cinekid also states that a MediaLab ticket needs a film ticket for the same day and cannot be bought on its own. Two adults and two children on combination tickets come to 4 × €12.50 = €50; films only would be €30.
• Stadspas holders pay a different scale: €1 for a film at Pathé Amsterdam Noord and €2 for film plus MediaLab. The same page states that one Stadspas buys one ticket for the whole festival, so a family of four needs four Stadspassen. A household with two covers two people, not four.
• The programme is wider than screenings. Film Plus costs €10.50 and puts voice actors, stunt performers and foley artists in front of the audience to explain how a film is made. Specials are also €10.50 and include the Glitter & Glamour morning and the Poffertjesrevolutie. The preschool drawing workshop, Taartrovers Tekenfeestje, is €9. This year there is also an Estonian strand with Lotte and the Lost Dragons and The Sleeping Beast.
• Two things to confirm before booking. The workshop age is written as 3 and up in the programme text but as 4+ in the ticket overview, so trust the individual screening page. And the holiday dates are advisory: schools may shift them, so check your school's schoolgids before you plan the week.

Hokimi field note: look up your region's autumn-break week before you choose between Amsterdam and a local cinema. Do it the other way round and you can end up buying tickets for a week the Amsterdam edition has already finished. Sources: source 1 and source 2, checked on 2026-09-23.