Moving Cinema is a European project that started in September 2014. Our main objectives are to create strong links between young people and cinema, to give them the tools to be autonomous spectators, and ultimately, to build active and sensitive audiences able to appreciate diverse cinematographic manifestations. We focus on contemporary and classic European auteur cinema, with special attention to films and filmmakers that differ from the mainstream, and yet are able to engage young people in a deep and meaningful way.

The first step is to increase interest and improve knowledge of European cinema among young audiences. The second crucial step is to enable and to encourage them to access film exhibition spaces and VoD autonomously; so that they maintain bonds with European films independently. We work mostly with young people aged from 12 to 19, combining work within the school framework (in a cross-curricular approach) and the outside school.

The project was launched in 2014 thanks to the support of the MEDIA Creative Europe. More than 32.000 young people, 50 organizations, 120 filmmakers, 1.350 teachers and 220 schools have got involved in the project.

In its five years, Moving Cinema explored five strands of work: (1) attendance at festivals and screenings; (2) young film programmers; (3) filming with mobile devices been inspired by great European filmmakers; (4) access to films on video on demand (VOD) platforms; and (5) Inside Cinema, an online platform that documents and provides valuable materials for anyone interested in the creative process of films such as The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959), Pierrot le fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) and Estiu 1993 (Carla Simón, 2017).

The project strands and activities are being constantly reviewed, evaluated, expanded and updated in order to generate strategies, proposals and methodologies of film education that could be transferred to various cultural and social contexts. The resources created by the project are available at our website and accessible to people, groups and institutions interested in film education all over the world. We have also designed and implemented training programs, both in the countries of the partner organizations and in other European countries. Through the activities, Moving Cinema has been weaving together an important network of festivals, cinema venues and exhibition spaces, education centers and institutions in order to promote and develop the field of film education for young people in Europe.

Moving Cinema is led since 2014 by A Bao A Qu and currently developed together with Meno Avilys (Lithuania, since 2014), Kijufi (Germany, since 2016), Otok Institut (Slovenia, since 2018) and BelDocs (Serbia, since 2020). Os Filhos de Lumière (Portugal), the Centre for the Moving Image (Scotland), the BFI – British Film Institute (Great Britain) and the Cinémathèque Française (France) have also been involved in the project.