Cinema communities for Innovation, Networks and Environment

Cinema communities for Innovation, Networks and Environment (CINE) works to promote film in communities where cinemas don’t exist or are disappearing, focusing on their ability to serve as venues for cultural and social aggregation while sowing the seeds of environmental and food culture among younger generations.

With this project, Slow Food and its Italian and international partners want to support cinema, revitalizing the role of film within local communities.

  • The Context

    In 2019 the European Commission launched a €2 million call for proposals to create innovative cultural hubs around cinemas, particularly in areas with limited cinema and cultural infrastructure. This was the first call of the Preparatory Action “Cinemas as Innovation Hubs for Local Communities”. Preparatory actions are designed to introduce and test new initiatives, with funding for no more than three years. The aim of this specific action was to try out new ways of supporting the creation of innovative cultural venues and empowering cinemas to innovate and play a more important role in their local communities. Audience development activities were supported, encouraging cinemas to provide access not only to audiovisual content, but also to other cultural content and services, as well as educational and entertainment activities for young audiences.

    Out of 46 applications, the European Commission chose five projects for funding, with Slow Food’s CINE the only one selected from Italy.

    Slow Food’s response

    Slow Food strongly believes in the capacity of cinema to forge a bond between viewers. Even in our current era of individual cultural consumption, as we sit in our living rooms with our screens connected to a boundless universe of online content, cinemas continue to play an important role as cultural aggregators, particularly in smaller communities.

    This awareness led to the launch of the CINE project, which focuses on supporting the function of cinemas as cultural reference points where common values and themes revolving around environmental protection, gastronomic heritage and the people working in the food industry can be discussed at both a local and a global level.

    A new kind of cinematic experience

    The program of screenings has been developed in collaboration with CinemAmbiente and local cinemas, selecting primarily European films. But the project isn’t just about showing movies and documentaries. A series of complementary events — like tastings and debates involving local people working to promote environmental and gastronomic sustainability — have been organized alongside the screenings.

    What makes CINE innovative is its desire to bring together film and activism, entertainment and civic engagement. As well as supporting the smallest cinemas and involving local communities, Slow Food also wants to introduce younger generations to issues around the environment and food, inspiring them to participate directly in activities.

  • The Activities

    CINE Trainings

  • The Partnership

    The Cinema communities for Innovation, Networks and Environment (CINE) project is funded by the European Union, with the contribution of  CRC Foundation, and coordinated by Slow Food. The project partners are:

    • the French Mobile Film Festival,
    • the Croatian association Kinookus
    • the Associazione CinemAmbiente,
    • the Cinema Boaro in Ivrea (province of Turin, Italy),
    • the Cinema Vittoria in Bra (province of Cuneo, Italy)
    • the City of Cherasco (province of Cuneo, Italy).

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