Cinemovel Foundation brings anti-mafia films and workshops to Italian schools

In conjunction with the Day of Memory and Commitment in remembrance of mafia victims (March 21), the Cinemovel Foundation is bringing cinema into classrooms across Italy and organizing workshops to educate students about organized crime. The initiative includes the Festival Schermi in Classe (SIC), an online event from March 15 to 17, 2023. SIC, active since 2011, is promoted by Cinemovel Foundation with Libera and MYmovies, supported by CIPS, MIUR, and MIC, and in collaboration with Scuola Normale Superiore, DAMS, and ACEC Emilia Romagna. The festival offers a pedagogical path focused on active citizenship, rights, and anti-mafia social values through film screenings, multimedia research, and sharing on a dedicated platform that uploads three different films every 15 days linked to the civil calendar. In 2022, SIC involved 61 schools across 48 municipalities, with over 500 teachers co-designing media and film literacy workshops with Cinemovel trainers from communication, social, and activism backgrounds. Students participated in SIC's magazine on rights, memory, and environment, and the festival featured national and international guests, matinées, masterclasses, and evening events. The urgency of this educational initiative is underscored by the recent capture of boss Matteo Messina Denaro.