The Croatian Audiovisual Centre has completed the first national research on film literacy, aiming to understand how children and young people in Croatia watch, interpret, and engage with film—and how schools and educators support (or fail to support) this process.
The study was designed to inform the future integration of film literacy into the Croatian education system, from early childhood to secondary school, and to strengthen young audiences’ engagement with both European and national cinema. Here is an english summary of the study.
Conducted in two phases-qualitative interviews with educators and quantitative research with 800 students aged 7–17, the study provides a comprehensive overview of current practices, gaps, and opportunities. Together, the findings reveal a growing need for systematic, structured film education: students consume a vast amount of audiovisual content daily, yet lack the knowledge to critically understand it; teachers express strong motivation but face curricular, infrastructural, and training obstacles; and Croatian films remain insufficiently recognised by young audiences.
For ECFA members, this research offers valuable insight into the habits, needs, and attitudes of a new generation of viewers in one European context, highlighting shared challenges across countries and reinforcing the importance of coordinated European support for film literacy initiatives.
Introduced by Edita Bilaver