Sarah Génot is responsible for educational activities and cultural awareness for the Cinémas 93 association, a network of public and associative cinemas in Seine-Saint-Denis. She explains that their mission consists, in particular, of offering sessions specially designed for children aged 2 to 6 years old. These screenings make cinema a real tool for cultural and emotional awakening.
Concretely, the children come with their family or with the school. They are welcomed by experts in young audiences, often cultural mediators, who introduce the films. These professionals explain to participants that they are about to live a collective experience and invite adults to turn off their phones to fully enjoy this moment together.
Then the light goes out and the beam of light from the searchlights shines out. On the children's faces, the eyes widen: they laugh, they feel fear, sadness, surprise, or even relief, all these emotions aroused by the characters. Carefully composed music invades the room. On the screen, age-appropriate images scroll to tell a story.
The films are chosen with the greatest care. First, the duration is adapted: no more than 45 minutes. Then, the rhythm is controlled so that children have time to understand and feel each scene. The themes covered are simple and universal: friendship, nature, the seasons, objects lost and then found.
The artistic quality of the proposal is also a major criterion. Some creations give an important place to materials, for example. The decorations and characters can be made of wool, felt or cardboard. We observe the importance of colors and shapes. Finally, the content must be soothing but moving, strong emotions are present, but always in a safe setting.
Discover an extract from the film Melting Heart by Benoît Chieux who tells the story of little Anna; she has to cross a rather unusual forest to bring chocolate fondant to her friend.
As psychologist Sophie Marinopoulos explains in her report submitted in 2019 to the Ministry of Culture, cinema for toddlers constitutes essential cultural nourishment, unlike what she calls “cultural malnutrition”, often associated with inappropriate consumption of personal screens.
What we already know is that cinema, as a quality cultural proposition, is a chosen, ritualized moment, where we discover artistic works and which also allows children and their parents , to open exchanges, and to continue the cinematographic experience by recounting the moment experienced, by commenting on it.
If the experience tempts you, come to the next screening co-produced by Cinémas 93, on Saturday February 8 at 3:30 p.m. at the Jacques Tati cinema in Tremblay-en-France. In addition, more than 1,000 independent cinemas dot France, do not hesitate to find out about youth programs near you.
