From the classrooms to the cinema

This year, at DocumentaMadrid we want to kick off an innovative activity in partnership with primary and secondary schools, offering students a space for reflection through the medium of non-fiction film. Specifically, we’ll be running five morning sessions designed to bring documentary film within the reach of children and teenagers. The activity will include screening films from our full-length film competition section as well as talks and discussions with the directors and with experts in audiovisual literacy. These sessions are intended to engage young people in a debate in which human, ethical and cultural values can be transmitted through the art of film-making. The scheduled films will address important historic, social and news topics. We hope the sessions will act as a trigger for open dialogue with the students, helping them to find new paths and ways forward for learning about films and the film industry.

We want film to be a medium for learning, knowledge and communicating ideas. We also see it as a unique tool for prompting critical discussion about the risks and advantages of being part of a society that’s becoming more and more strongly defined by images. Ultimately, it’s about experiencing the reality of the audiovisual consciously and creatively, having an awareness of its basis and enjoying its unique features.