On 26-27 July, the European Film Factory Symposium was held in Romania under the framework of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) and thanks to their collaboration with its educational programme EducaTIFF.

This event was an opportunity to put an emphasis on the importance of film education in the classroom. It brought together various actors of the educational system, policymakers, and representatives from Institut Français, ARTE and European Schoolnet. All of them had the chance to discuss the importance of bringing film education into the classroom and the need for cooperation on a European level to make this happen, among other relevant topics. 

Moreover, European Schoolnet brought to the Symposium 11 of the 16 teachers that have been part of the Focus Group of the European Film Factory project during the past 2 years. They were at the heart of its success since their expertise and first-hand experience were invaluable to the creation of the pedagogical kits of the platform and their implementation in the classroom. 

During these two days, the teachers had an opportunity to attend the main conference on Film and Media Education, co-organised with EducaTIFF, several workshops, meetings with film directors, and film screenings. Two intense days where both European Schoolnet and the teachers reinforced their commitment to keeping on transforming education in Europe through innovative pedagogical resources such as this project. 

European Film Factory: Cinema is the new school! 

In case you haven't heard about the European Film Factory yet, we encourage you to check their website and explore new ways of teaching and learning about film education. The project is funded by the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe programme and aims to raise awareness on the importance of film education for teachers, educational leaders and institutions. Furthermore, it also represents an opportunity to connect students and teachers from all over Europe, nurture European values and alert on contemporary issues. 

Accessible in 8 languages, the European Film Factory platform provides you with a free catalogue of films focused on European cultural heritage that were milestones in the history of cinema and programmes of short films from the new generation of film directors. Every film is accompanied by an educational kit developed by a group of European teachers under the supervision of film education experts. Moreover, this platform also includes interactive tools such as an extract creation tool and mind maps that allow collaborative work. 

Film education is here to stay 

European Schoolnet, together with its consortium partners, is committed to keeping on innovating in the field of film literacy. In this regard, we are currently working on the next phase of this project. We will continue trying to be at the forefront of developing projects that promote our European cinema and give our teachers the necessary tools to make the new generations learn about films and through them.