CineO’ – Film Festival in Hospital brought children and young audiences together throughcinema

The second Croatian edition of CineO’ – Film Festival in Hospital concluded on 26 May 2026 with an award ceremony and shared screenings at Dokukino KIC in Zagreb, organised within the European Film in Hospital initiative in collaboration with Italian partners.

Over the past month, children and young people in hospitals and home care watched and voted for films from a special CineO’ selection available on the Croatian Film in Hospital platform filmubolnici.org. The festival connected children in healthcare settings, high-school students acting as young film selectors, teachers, healthcare professionals and younger audiences through a shared cinema experience.

This year’s awarded films were:
🏆 The Goose by Jan Mika (Czech Republic, 2022)
🏆 Capelito: Honey by Rodolfo Pastor (Spain, 1999)
🏆 La Reine des Renards by Marina Rosset (Suisse, 2022)

The CineO’ awards will be sent to the directors of the awarded films as a symbolic gesture of support
from children and young audiences participating in Film in Hospital.

Inspired by the participatory approach developed by Italian partners, the Croatian programme also focused on creating connections between peers. High-school students involved in the Filmski forum programme curated and presented the films, while pupils from Ivana Gundulić Primary School attended the final screening event and award ceremony at Dokukino KIC.

CineO’ continues to show how cinema can become a bridge between young hospitalised patients and their peers, creating moments of dialogue, empathy, creativity and shared cultural participation.

Film in Hospital currently operates in 12 European countries, providing children and young people in hospitals and home care with access to curated European films, educational materials and creative activities.