ELMA enthusiastically supports programming that connects children, teens, and college students with European cinema and filmmakers. We believe exposure to European cinema at an early age develops a much-needed appreciation for diversity and multiculturalism in the next generation of young Americans.
Scroll down to learn more about past educational programs we've supported.
ANIMATION IS FILM Festival
In 2017, the inaugural event for ANIMATION IS FILM Festival took place at the historic Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (Learn more)
Students meeting Patrick Bruel, co-star of A Bag of Marbles, at the 2017 COLCOA French Film Festival. Our high school screening programs often feature in-person Q&As with European filmmakers and actors, as well as fun activities like red carpet photo ops and Snapchat filters!
COLCOA French Film Festival
Beginning in 2008, ELMA and the COLCOA French Film Festival created the opportunity for high school students to experience a foreign film — many for the first time. Altogether, since the launch of the high school screenings, over 20,000 students from 90 high schools in Los Angeles County have participated in the program.
In 2010, a masterclass was introduced for colleges, film schools and universities, which consists of a premiere screening of a French film, followed by a conversation with the filmmaker. These have involved students from 30 colleges and universities.
For the 2012 edition, we also launched a student screening. Unlike the masterclass which is reserved for film students, the student screening is open to all students 17 and over and has less ratings constraints than the High school screening.
Thanks to ELMA's continued patronage, COLCOA is able to offer these programs free of charge.
LA Greek Film Festival, June 2011
The age of global interconnectedness is shaping the ways films are made, distributed and exhibited in the US and abroad, while the dividing lines between foreign films, independent productions and Hollywood studio films are beginning to blur.
For the first time in the history of American cinema, Hollywood studios have set up international offices to facilitate local productions filmed in the local language. Similarly, foreign films may be facing a newly kindled interest in the US. While still marginal players in the US distribution and exhibition domains, foreign films have a growing effect on both studio and independent domestic filmmaking, shown by an increasing number of international co-productions and Hollywood studio remakes.
This panel addressed questions on the future potential of foreign films in the broader international market, including issues such as international representation and the use of alternative distribution and marketing resources. (Learn more)
Seminar on the Influence of European Film Movements
Aero theater, May 2008
What inspires the visual and narrative construction of a Scorsese, Yimou, Lynch, Miyazaki, Coen or Dardenne Brothers film?
European film movements of the 1920s to the 1990s have often been cited as focal points to understanding the work of our reigning masters of cinema. Whether it is through Italian Neo-Realism, French Poetic Realism, French New Wave, '70s New German Cinema or Dogma 95, this seminar, led by film consultant Thomas Ethan Harris, will help you to understand the founding principles of each revolutionary European film movement and how important each is to the design of cinema today. (Learn more)
Los Angeles Children's Film Festival
Spotlight on French Animation
In 2013, the American Cinematheque and the New York International Children's Film Festival presented for the first time the Los Angeles Children's Film Festival, showing , for children of all ages, from 16 countries. (Learn more)
In the last decade, French animation has produced such gems as THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, PERSEPOLIS, and the recent A CAT IN PARIS (all of which earned Oscar nominations). The French Film & TV Office and the American Cinematheque presented three new films in this grand tradition of distinctively drawn visuals paired with unusual stories: ZARAFA, THE PAINTING and THE RABBI'S CAT, with the support of ELMA. (Learn more)
Spanish Film Study-Day
Cinemagic
In 2011 and 2012, the Recent Spanish Cinema series featured a Spanish Film Study-Day. Students from several high schools were given the opportunity to see a premiere at the Egyptian Theater. The screenings were complemented by pedagogical tasks involving film and language. Films shown were ENTRELOBOS and COPITO DE NIEVE.
(Learn more: 2011 | 2012)
ELMA was delighted to welcome and support Cinemagic International Film & Television Festival for Young People in Los Angeles. Cinemagic brought us a piece of Ireland, March 1st-4th 2010, at the RedCat Theatre. 250 young people, from different schools throughout LA, came together to watch and critique a selection of Irish Films. (Learn more)
Seminars, classes and conferences
Crossing Borders: Foreign Films in Hollywood
