2 minute read
Cinemini
from ECFA Journal September 2021
by ECFA
CinEMini Europe 2
A film education project for 3 to 6 year olds
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How can we make watching films a meaningful experience for children? What can we teach children about film at an early age, as their early years are the most formative? How can we combine aesthetic experiences with creativity and foster the desire to play? Cinemini Europe 2 might be the answer.
Cinemini Europe 2, a film education initiative that has been running since January 2021, offers children aged 3 to 6, parents and educators the opportunity to discover the diverse world of the moving image in a creative and playful way. The project group consists of seven European film education institutions under the leadership of the DFF - Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum. Project coordinator Sebastian Rosenow (DFF): “We believe that the primary goal is not to understand films, but to experience them. By watching, playing and reflecting we want to stimulate the development of creativity and critical thinking and inspire a love for film even among the youngest.”
Tried and tested
The result of the first phase of the project (Cinemini Europe 1) is a catalogue of 26 short films from all over the world - from the early days of cinema to today, from avant-garde to narrative animation. Films in the Cinemini catalogue are always under 15 minutes, do not use spoken or written language and were not necessarily made for children. Rosenow: “All our films have been tried and tested many times with groups of children and are waiting for you to watch them on our website. They are accompanied by informative material, texts and activity cards that provide a historical and aesthetic context for the films and offer suggestions for a creative pedagogical approach.”
Free of charge
Film programmes compiled from this catalogue are now made available for international festivals under the title ‘Cinemini on Tour’, offering children a tailor made framework for playfully discovering the diversity of European cinema. These programmes, consisting of European short and animated films from various years, can be booked free of charge for family screenings as well as for groups from kindergartens and primary schools through the project’s distribution partner LEMONADE FILMS.
Further training courses on early childhood film education with the Cinemini catalogue for a European professional audience are planned in Poznan, Porto and Frankfurt am Main, in 2021 and 2022. You’ll be updated about these initiatives through ECFA’s communication.
