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26.05.2026.

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

The CineO’ film festival was successfully held once again in Croatia and Italy as part of the European Film in Hospital initiative. The project connected children in hospitals and home care, their peers, educators, and healthcare professionals through a shared cinema experience, creativity, and empathy.

Here is the breakdown of how this year’s editions unfolded in each country:

Croatia: Second Edition Fosters Peer Connections

The second Croatian edition of CineO’ concluded on 26 May 2026 with an award ceremony and screenings at Dokukino KIC in Zagreb, organised in collaboration with Italian partners. Over the past month, children 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.

Inspired by the participatory approach developed by Italian partners, the Croatian programme focused heavily on creating connections between peers:

  • High-school students involved in the Croatian Filmski forum programme curated and presented the films together with Italian partners.
  • Children in hospital and home care settings then watched the selection and voted for their favorite films.
  • Pupils from Ivana Gundulić Primary School attended the final screening event and award ceremony at Dokukino KIC.

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.

Croatian Awarded Films:
🏆 The Goose by Jan Mika (Czech Republic, 2022)
🏆 Capelito: Honey by Rodolfo Pastor (Spain, 1999)
🏆 La Reine des Renards by Marina Rosset (Suisse, 2022)

Italy: Third Edition Brings Record Participation

Italy celebrated its special third edition of the CineO’ Festival, kicking off online on 10 April 2026 via the Italian Film in Hospital platform cinemainospedale.it. Hospitalised children, home care patients, parents, teachers, and healthcare staff spent a month reviewing a curated selection of eight short films co-selected by Italian and Croatian staff.

The Italian edition saw incredible engagement:

  • Until 10th May, children, teachers in hospital, parents and healthcare staff shared their own feedback on every short film.
  • Around 300 children across Italy participated in the voting process. Great participation also came from their parents as well as School in hospital’s teachers and healthcare professionals.
  • On 19 May 2026, approximately 150 children gathered at the Cinema Galleria in Bari for an interactive festival event featuring lively debates with the filmmakers.

Italian Awarded Films:
🏆 Children Jury Award: Homework by Nacho Arjona (Spain, 2024)
🏆 Teachers in Hospital Jury Award: The Goose by Jan Mika (Czech Republic, 2022)
🏆 Parents and Healthcare staff Jury Award: Capelito: Honey by Rodolfo Pastor (Spain, 1999)

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.

Photos from Croatia: Ivan Tripar (Kids Meet Art)

Photos from Italy: Il Nuovo Fantarca

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.