La Grotta Dei Piccoli was born as part of the 2016 edition of La Guarimba International Film Festival, as a child friendly space created to offer non formal educational paths through the language of cinema and illustration.
The project includes the screening of a selection of one hundred animated short films from all over the world, educational workshops around animation and illustration, and meetings with international directors and animators.
The initiative aims to respond to children’s and young people’s need for cultural innovation during a crucial stage of life, supporting them through an essential path capable of developing creativity, critical thinking, and the discovery of new imaginaries, while recognising culture as a fundamental educational tool for social development.
We work in a territory where access to culture is still unequal and where many children grow up without cinemas, libraries, or cultural spaces. For this reason, our goal is to give cultural dignity to the territory and make culture accessible to everyone, paying particular attention to those who need it most.
The selected works have the objective of respecting children and engaging them through sensitive themes and new narrative techniques, necessary for the development of creativity and critical sense, while still leaving them free to play and imagine.
Screenings and activities take place during the days of La Guarimba festival. At the entrance to the children’s area, parents find qualified staff to entrust their children to, so that they can enjoy the cinema in complete safety, inside a small festival designed just for them. The shorts are screened in parallel with the official competition, in a space adjacent to the main screen.
The project also makes children protagonists of the festival through their participation in the Young Jury, who nominate the winning short film of La Grotta dei Piccoli, encouraging active participation and constant involvement.
Since 2017, the competition has taken place in collaboration with UNICEF Italy, which acknowledges its relevance for the socio cultural growth of young people.
La Grotta dei Piccoli is not only a festival section. Over the years, it has also grown into an educational project that continues after the festival through La Grotta dei Piccoli nelle scuole, bringing screenings, film education, and animation workshops into schools. Starting from Calabria, the project has travelled across schools throughout the region and has also reached schools outside Italy, expanding its educational mission beyond the festival days.
Through this year round educational work, La Grotta dei Piccoli strengthens its commitment to non formal education, audiovisual literacy, and access to culture for children and teenagers, connecting the festival experience with schools, teachers, and local communities.
Among the institutional recognitions received over the years, the project has been supported by UNICEF Italy, received the Award of Representation of the Chamber of Deputies in 2021 and 2022, and is part of the wider recognition received by La Guarimba, including the Medal of Representation of the President of the Italian Republic and further recognitions from the Italian Parliament.
