Film Education Conference
9-11 July 2026, Porto

Over the last years, the School of Arts and, particularly, the members of the Cinema and Visual Arts focus area of the Research Center for Science and Technology of the Arts (CITAR) have been actively engaging in exploring the relationship between film and education. As a film school we pursue our own methodology, and, at the same time, seek to understand how distinct pedagogies of cinematic education can be applied in working with different age groups and in various social contexts and communities. Some of the most important activities in this area comprise a special scientific JSTA dossier dedicated to “Critical Approaches Towards (A New) Arts Education” (2021), an Exploratory Research Project that designed  an educational strategy for an inclusive and flexible film literacy implemented in the North of Portugal (Insert, 2022-23), a National Report on the practices and institutions working in Portugal in the field of Film and Education (2023) and two national Meetings of Film and Education (2023-24). Besides these activities, some of its researchers and collaborators have been actively involved in activities of management, writing, teachers’ training  and film programming in the context of the Portuguese National Film Plan and other national and international projects, such as, for example, CinEd - European Cinema Education for Youth cooperation project.

By launching a yearly Film Education Conference, we wish to expand these activities and to create an international platform for dialogue by inviting researchers from around the world to share their reflections on the growing field of Film and Education. Our goal is to engage with other projects and pedagogies, from both in and out of university. National and International programs, regional and private methodologies, experimental methods and engagement with national cinemas will also be the focus of this conference. We would like to open our doors to film education and media literacy professionals who work both within the Academia and in a wide range of institutions (education providers, small NGOs, cinematheques, national agencies among others) and who are interested in sharing their research, tools and best practices.

Objectives of the conference:

Foster a conversation about diverse film practices around the world;
Unite various perspectives on film education promoting a dialogue between primary and secondary school teachers, academics, filmmakers, policy-makers and stakeholders;
Invite for a reflection on how film education can be used in addressing a variety of cultural and socio-political emergencies we find ourselves in.

Confirmed keynote speakers:
Mark Reid
Andrea Reisz
(more info coming soon)

Areas and communication topics:

- Film education pedagogies and programs around the world;
- Film education national strategies;
- Film education as art education;
- Film education as transversal pedagogy;
- The relationship between theory and practice in film pedagogy;
- Different age groups strategies for film education;
- Participatory filmmaking educational practices;
- Formal and informal film practices;
- Film education: from hands on experience to new digital strategies;
- Video essay as a pedagogical tool;
- Cross-media/intermedial approaches to film education/Film based art education;
- Training practices for tutors;
- Film making workshops;
- Film Education and Ecopedagogy/Ecoliteracy;
- Film Education and Visual literacy;
- Film Education and Society: inclusive film education methodologies and Film education against the raise of racism/xenophobia etc.;
- Film education and decolonization practices;
- Film for democratic education;

Call for abstracts (paper proposals): until February 20th, 2026