Dalston's Rio Cinema runs Hackney's first children's film festival, 24 to 31 October: nine half-term events, every ticket £5, or £3 with a Hackney Library Card.

The Rio Cinema in Dalston is holding Hackney’s first children’s film festival over October half term, with nine events from Saturday 24 to Saturday 31 October. Every ticket is £5, or £3 with a Hackney Library Card.

The Rio is at 107 Kingsland High Street, about three miles south-east of Crouch End. Its festival lands in the middle of Haringey’s half term, which runs from 26 to 30 October, so it is a £5 option for a half-term afternoon with children.

Each event comes with something beyond the film: crafts, a storytime, a filmmaker’s introduction or a costume parade. Most are aimed at ages 5 to 8, with several for ages 8 to 12. A quiet space will be open throughout, the cinema says.

Sophie Walmsley and Claire Harrison will host every screening. They run the Rio’s regular Saturday Morning Picture Club.

A small child in a red jumper eating popcorn in a red cinema seat
A young audience member at the Rio's Saturday Morning Picture Club in December 2025. Photo: supplied by Rio Cinema

“The kids have waited long enough”

Rosie Greatorex, the Rio’s executive director, introduced the programme in the festival’s press release:

“The kids have waited long enough! This October half term, the Rio brings Hackney its first ever Children’s Film Festival, with a lively and enchanting film programme curated especially for young audiences.

“Think of it as our kids’ menu: Japanese Film Club, Film Africa, Neurospicy Shorts and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival have each cooked up something wonderful. Most screenings are for ages 5 to 8, with a handful for older kids aged 8 to 12. Hosting every single screening are Sophie Walmsley and Claire Harrison, the people who bring you our Saturday Morning Kids Club. We will be joined by very special guests along the way! Then on Halloween we roll out the red carpet for a costume parade: dress to impress, and expect big laughs, cheering and questions all the way home.”

The screenings were put together with four partners:

  • Japanese Film Club
  • Film Africa
  • Neurospicy
  • the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival

Hackney Carnival group Tropical Isles and the visiting New York animator Beck Underwood are also taking part.

Children drawing with felt-tip pens and crayons at a table covered in paper, glue sticks and pots of pens
Children drawing at the Rio's Mas and Movies workshop in November 2025. Photo: supplied by Rio Cinema

The programme at a glance

Date and time Event Age guide Certificate
Sat 24 Oct, 10:30 The Wild Robot + themed crafts All ages U
Sat 24 Oct, 14:00 Young Neurospicy: Family Shorts, Relaxed Screening 8+ advisory PG
Sat 24 Oct, 16:00 Paddington + storytime and teddy bears’ picnic All ages PG
Sun 25 Oct, 10:30 Japanese Film Club: Penguin Highway 8+ PG
Sun 25 Oct, 14:00 Film Africa: Crocodile 8+ 12A
Tue 27 Oct, 15:00 Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival: Big Stories for Little Ones All ages U
Wed 28 Oct, 15:00 The Lure of Ponies: A Spellbound Attic Mystery 8+ advisory PG
Thu 29 Oct, 15:00 Maya, Give Me a Title! All ages U
Sat 31 Oct, 14:00 The Little Vampire + costume parade All ages U

Times, ages and certificates are from the Rio’s press release of 2 October. Penguin Highway did not yet have its own booking page on the Rio’s website when we checked on 2 October; the other eight did.

Festival poster reading The Very First Ever Hackney Children's Film Fest, tickets £5 or £3 with a Hackney Library Card, 24 to 31 October 2026, with cartoon children around the lettering
The festival poster. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Opening Saturday: robots, shorts and Paddington

The festival opens at 10:30 on Saturday 24 October with The Wild Robot. Themed crafts start at 10:30 and the film at 11:15. Children can move around or talk during the screening if they need to.

Animated still of a large robot with glowing round eyes holding something small in its hands
A still from The Wild Robot. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

At 14:00, Young Neurospicy: Family Shorts is a 45-minute Relaxed Screening of animated and live-action short films by neurodivergent creatives. Conor Dev-Powel hosts with Sophie Walmsley and Claire Harrison. The lights stay slightly raised, the sound is turned down and people can move around.

Title card reading Young Neurospicy in purple letters over a striped popcorn box on a yellow background
The Young Neurospicy title card. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

The day ends at 16:00 with Paddington. Children are invited to bring a teddy bear. Storytime begins at 16:10 and the film at 16:20.

Paddington Bear in his red hat and blue duffel coat beside a small dog on an escalator
A still from Paddington. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Sunday: anime and a Nigerian film collective

On Sunday 25 October at 10:30, Japanese Film Club presents Penguin Highway, Hiroyasu Ishida’s 119-minute anime, shown in its English-dubbed version. A fourth-grader investigates penguins suddenly appearing in his suburban town. Sayumi’s cookies will be on sale in the Rio café while stocks last.

Anime still of a boy with a backpack standing in a green field watching several penguins, with houses behind
A still from Penguin Highway. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

At 14:00, Film Africa presents Crocodile, a 101-minute documentary. It follows a group of children in Kaduna, Nigeria, who turn a backyard into a science-fiction universe with one mobile phone, an unreliable electricity supply and their imaginations. It was filmed across 13 years, as they grow into the filmmaking collective known as The Critics.

It is in English, Pidgin, Hausa and Yoruba with English subtitles. It is rated 12A, so children under 12 must come with an adult.

Young people hanging a large green sheet between poles outdoors on dry, dusty ground
A still from Crocodile. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Midweek afternoons

All three weekday events start at 15:00.

Tuesday 27 October: seven Caribbean short films chosen by the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, titled Big Stories for Little Ones. Tropical Isles’ Marva Antoine and her team lead Carnival crafts from 15:00, and the one-hour film programme starts at 15:45.

Animated still of a small figure standing on a rocky landscape under a purple sky with a low sun
A still from the Big Stories for Little Ones shorts programme. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Wednesday 28 October: Beck Underwood introduces her first feature, The Lure of Ponies: A Spellbound Attic Mystery, a 67-minute stop-motion film. She also leads crafts inspired by its cast of vintage dolls and toys. Crafts begin at 15:00 and the film at 15:45.

Stop-motion still of a doll in a striped jumper running past a toy shopping trolley in front of a yellow blanket
A still from The Lure of Ponies. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Thursday 29 October: Maya, Give Me a Title!, Michel Gondry’s 61-minute collection of handmade paper-cut animated adventures. It is shown in French with English subtitles.

Paper-cut animation still of a girl in a red helmet walking down a street of drawn buildings with cars
A still from Maya, Give Me a Title! Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Halloween: The Little Vampire and a costume parade

The festival closes on Saturday 31 October. Halloween crafts start at 14:00, then there is an on-stage costume parade at 14:20 and a screening of The Little Vampire.

Film still of two boys and a man in a dark, misty wood
A still from The Little Vampire. Image: supplied by Rio Cinema

Children’s Saturdays at the Rio, 1988

The Rio has run children’s screenings on Saturdays for decades. The cinema sent these pictures of its Saturday Club in October 1988, taken by The Rio Tape/Slide Newsreel Group.

Three children laughing at the camera, one in a cardboard hat and one in a vampire mask and cape over a Rio T-shirt
Children in masks and hats at the Rio Saturday Club in October 1988. Photo: The Rio Tape/Slide Newsreel Group, supplied by Rio Cinema
Children holding yellow and blue balloons
Children with balloons at the Rio Saturday Club in October 1988. Photo: The Rio Tape/Slide Newsreel Group, supplied by Rio Cinema
Three children standing against a dark background, one wearing a Superman top
Children at the Rio Saturday Club in October 1988. Photo: The Rio Tape/Slide Newsreel Group, supplied by Rio Cinema
A boy in a Rio T-shirt holding up a drinks carton in a row of red cinema seats, with other children behind
In the seats at the Rio Saturday Club in October 1988. Photo: The Rio Tape/Slide Newsreel Group, supplied by Rio Cinema

The Rio is an independent, not-for-profit community cinema and a registered charity. It says films have been shown on its Kingsland High Street site since 1909. This year marks 50 years of the cinema being run by and for its community.

What it means for you

  • Price: £5 for every event. The £3 rate needs a Hackney Library Card.
  • Booking: on the Rio’s website. Each event’s listing carries its full age guidance, certificate, language, running time and access details.
  • Age: check the guide in the table above. Four events are recommended for ages 8 and over, and Crocodile is a 12A.
  • Access: a quiet space is open throughout. The Young Neurospicy screening is a full Relaxed Screening, and several other events let children move around and talk.
  • Halloween: bring the children in costume on 31 October for the on-stage parade.
  • Where: Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, London E8 2PB.

For more to do in half term closer to home, see our Haringey October half-term roundup and what’s on in Crouch End this month.