Visual literacy programs provide awareness and knowledge about film heritage and increase interest in cinema culture. Engaging children in visual literacy; is about understanding the language of moving images, and to some extent mastering the language of moving images in creative digital production.
Though cinema culture is emerging in Palestine, children's cinema is still underdeveloped. There is a lack of diverse or engaging programs for children and youth in Arabic. In general, media is not used to improve children’s capabilities on the educational, social and cultural levels. On the contrary, most content in Arabic for children does not provide educational value, leading to alienation.
And more risky - with unsupervised contents that threaten child mental growth and increase the opportunity for behavioral problems; especially when violent contents are considered.
Therefore, since its beginning, Filmlab: Palestine established the children and youth program for kids under 15 years of age. Promoting cinema culture and increasing film literacy by exposing children and youth to the specialized field of high-quality movies beyond commercial styles. In 2017, Filmlab: Palestine concentrated on the continuation and development of its children and youth visual literacy program, leading to Next Generation Program.
Learn more about "Next Generation Program"