Film education often depends on enthusiastic teachers or committed festivals. But what happens when an entire institution makes it part of its long-term mission? For almost 20 years, Schermi e Lavagne, the educational department of the Cineteca di Bologna, has been building a remarkably comprehensive approach to film education.
The Cineteca di Bologna has long placed education at the heart of its mission. For two decades, its Educational Department Schermi e Lavagne has been developing projects for schools of every level and for families, building a network of national and international partnerships that support a wide range of activities throughout the year. Among these initiatives, A scuola di cinema has become one of the department’s key programmes. In 2025/2026, the fourth edition was organised with support from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, as a demonstration of just how far that ambition can reach: 90 schools across seven Italian regions, 500 teachers, nearly 5,000 students, 120 screenings and more than 1,000 hours of workshops.
Yet the impressive numbers tell only part of the story. The programme combines teacher training, classroom resources, cinema screenings, practical workshops and encounters with filmmakers into one coherent framework. This year’s edition explored topics such as adapting literature for the screen and the grammar of film, while younger children discovered the language of cinema through award-winning animator Yulia Aronova.
The online platform developed by the Cineteca offers lesson plans, video lectures, thematic dossiers and interdisciplinary teaching materials, helping teachers integrate film into everyday education rather than treating it as an occasional activity. Student productions are encouraged through competitions, while encounters with filmmakers create meaningful connections between the classroom and professional practice.
This is more than an impressive Italian success story. It is a reminder that film education flourishes when screenings, teacher training, educational resources and creative participation reinforce one another. Bologna has spent years building such an ecosystem: one that may inspire educators, festivals and cultural organisations far beyond Italy.