During the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Italian Ministry of Culture hosted a high-level panel on film education to explore strategies for engaging young audiences across Europe. Held on September 6, the event titled “Film Education: inspiring young audiences around Europe” was organized in collaboration with the European Film Agencies Directors Association (EFAD), bringing together policymakers and industry professionals.
European Strategies for Film Education in the Digital Age
The panel featured two distinct sessions examining how different nations approach visual literacy. According to the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual, the first session highlighted national policies, tools, and intervention models used by European film agencies. Representatives from Denmark, France, and Italy shared their domestic frameworks for integrating cinema into educational settings. The second session shifted focus to practical applications, examining how industry operators can coordinate efforts across borders as digital streaming platforms alter traditional viewing habits.
Giorgio Carlo Brugnoni, Director General for Cinema and Audiovisual in Italy, and Chris Marcich, President of EFAD and CEO of HAVC in Croatia, opened the proceedings. They were joined by Line Aarland, Deputy Director of DFI in Denmark; Olivier Henrard, Deputy Director General of the CNC in France; and Bruno Zambardino, EU affairs and film education contact for Italy’s DGCA, as reported by the Ministry of Culture.
Institutional Collaborations and Upcoming Initiatives
The panel also incorporated perspectives from major European film associations. Ada Solomon, a producer and board member of the European Film Academy; Elizabeth Wenk, Director of the Golden Sparrow Foundation and Festival and project manager for Kids Regio; Hanna Lajunen, CEO of Cinemanse and member of Europa Distribution; Frédéric Cornet, managing and artistic director of Cinema Galeries and board member of Europa Cinemas; and Simone Gialdini, Vice President of UNIC and General Director of ANEC, contributed to the discussions moderated by Eszter Lányi, Training Head at NFI in Hungary.
Brugnoni emphasized the strategic importance of the event for the Ministry of Culture, noting that image education is vital for building critical thinking among younger generations. He announced that a joint Manifesto on Film Education will be launched by Italy and France at the upcoming Lumière Summit. This initiative stems from a cooperation agreement signed in Antibes on June 25, alongside the recent inauguration of Casa Cinema Giovani at the Lido of Venice, a dedicated national space for youth projects under the National Cinema and Images for School Plan.
EFAD Board Meeting Gathers 38 Nations
Ahead of the public panel, EFAD held a closed-door Board Meeting on September 5 at the Italian Pavilion. The gathering brought together representatives from film agencies across 38 European countries to discuss key sector trends and cross-border cooperation. Giorgio Carlo Brugnoni attended the session as an elected member of the EFAD Board, representing Italy’s ongoing institutional engagement in European audiovisual policy.