Workshops and Screening for Schools

LA GUARIMBA SCHOOL PROGRAM

The La Guarimba School Program is a film education initiative that brings cinema into schools through film screenings, animation workshops and educational activities for students and teachers.

The program is developed by the La Guarimba Association, a cultural organisation founded in 2012 that promotes cinema as a tool for education, participation and cultural dialogue.

Since 2019 the program has involved thousands of students through screenings, creative workshops and training activities in schools, gradually expanding beyond Italy through international collaborations.

The activities are designed for kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools and high schools and are created by audiovisual professionals, educators and film specialists.

EDUCATIONAL APPROACH

The program uses cinema as an educational tool to develop creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and storytelling skills.

Activities are based on non-formal education methods, where students actively participate in creative processes: observing, discussing, experimenting and producing audiovisual content.

Through cinema students learn to understand the language of images, reflect on the visual culture that surrounds them and express their ideas through creative tools.

FILM SCREENINGS

Film screenings represent the first encounter for many students with cinematic language. Films are selected for their artistic quality and for their ability to explore important themes such as environment, identity, human rights and citizenship.

Each screening is introduced by film professionals, who guide students through the language of cinema and the techniques of animation. After the screening, a discussion with the students allows the experience to become participatory and educational.

Whenever possible, screenings are organised in local cinemas, allowing students to experience film as a collective cultural event.

ANIMATION AND FILM WORKSHOPS

Alongside screenings, the program offers hands-on film and animation workshops where students can directly experience the creative process behind filmmaking.

Participants work in groups to develop stories, create characters and produce short animated films using techniques such as 2D animation and stop motion.

During the workshops students discover every stage of audiovisual production: story development, character creation, animation, sound recording and the final screening of their work.

Through these activities students develop creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills, learning how to collaborate on a collective creative project.

EDUCATIONAL IMPACT

Over the years the program has involved thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, bringing cinema to territories where access to audiovisual culture is often limited or absent.

These activities allow students to experience cinema not only as spectators but also as creators of images, developing new forms of expression and cultural participation.

A METHODOLOGY THAT TRAVELS

In recent years the animation workshops developed by La Guarimba have also been implemented in international contexts, demonstrating the ability of this educational methodology to adapt to very different communities and territories.

In 2023 one of the animation workshops was presented at the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates, one of the leading international festivals dedicated to children’s cinema and film education.

In 2023 and 2024 the workshops were also held in Caracas, Venezuela, within the framework of the Caribe Atómico Film Festival, involving children and teenagers from schools and communities in different areas of the city.

In these contexts the stop motion workshop takes place over four consecutive days, during which participants create a complete animated film: from writing the story and designing characters to filming, recording sound and presenting the final screening to families and the community.

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

Over the years the program has been implemented in several editions, involving numerous schools and educational communities.

2026
Read the report of the 2026 edition

2023
Read the report of the 2023 edition

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

The project has been documented and analysed by educators and cultural professionals who have participated in the program.

Among these contributions is the article written by Gabriele Tangerini, educator and workshop tutor, published by the Italian Association of Trainers (AIF), which reflects on the pedagogical value of animation workshops within the educational context of Calabria.

Creatività in Calabria – article by Gabriele Tangerini for AIF

BRING THE PROGRAM TO YOUR SCHOOL

The program is open to kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools and high schools interested in hosting film education activities.

We collaborate with school principals and teachers to design educational programs that integrate cinema into school activities.

If you would like to bring the program to your school, please contact us for more information.

Contact us to join the school program