The magic of cinema. The importance of film education for the youngest.

How can cinemas create meaningful encounters with art for children aged three to six? Drawing on the experience of the MiniFilmclub at DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, this impulse explores child-centred cultural education, participation and artistic quality. It challenges assumptions about what is “appropriate” for young children and highlights the importance of experimentation, relationships and long-term collaboration between cultural institutions, educators and children. Let’s share the magic of cinema with the youngest!

Christine Kopf is Artistic Director and board member of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum. She studied film studies, German philology and cultural anthropology. In Wiesbaden, she directed the goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film and (together with Barbara Dierksen) the German TV Crime Film Festival for several years. She developed concepts, exhibitions and film series for institutions such as Filmhaus Nuremberg, ZKM – Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, the Wiesbaden Cultural Office, Offenbach University of Art and Design (HfG), and – most significantly – for the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, where she has been curating exhibitions, programming film series and organizing special events for over 20 years.

She is the initiator and head of the working group on film education and outreach within the German Cinematheque Association and is a frequent guest on international panels addressing film literacy.