The festival component of Lola Kenya Screen entails film exhibition, film competition, media literacy, story-telling, theatre, music, dance, art exhibition and talent exposition.
The Lola Kenya Screen festival comprises several film exhibition sections. The main film prizes are the Golden Mboni Award for the best children’s film and the 14-Plus Award for the best youth film. Other prizes include the Most Creative Project, Children’s Rights, Best Animation, Best Documentary, Best Fiction, Best Experimental Film, Best Student Film, Best Kenyan Film, and Best Eastern Africa Film.
The festival exhibits the best possible films, both local and international, for children, youth and family. It showcases films in all kinds of formats, categories and genres: short films; long films; children’s and youth films; animation; African films; experimental films; creatively packaged music videos; television series and programmes; feature films; documentary films; public service announcements and commercials; student films; and computer games.
The festival focuses on films by children and youth; films by students, amateurs and professionals for children and youth; and films involving children and youth. During the festival, children (6- to 13-year-olds) and youth (14- to 25-year-olds) serve on the film selection committee, on the film jury, in programme preparation and presentation (MC), in the festival press (creative journalism), and in the practical film-making workshop that produces at least five short films for children and youth.
The annual festival also hosts the Kids For Kids Festival-Africa (KFKF-A) competition for films made by children for children across Africa.
By the end of 2011, Lola Kenya Screen had showcased more than 1950 films from 102 countries.