Developed in close connection with the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen 2026, the Citizens’ Lab, at its fifth edition brings together an international and multidisciplinary group of filmmakers, scholars, practitioners and students to explore how images, stories, and new media shape civic imagination, public debate, and impact identities.

Through curated screenings, cine-forums, masterclasses, immersive storytelling experiences, academic lectures and roundtables, participants are invited to reflect on visual products not only as a form of art but as a powerful civic language.

The program blends theory and practice: films are discussed as democratic artifacts, festivals as public spaces, and visual media as tools for dialogue, inclusion, and participation. Citizens’ Lab is designed for those who believe that cinema and, more broadly, visuals, does more than entertain: they question, connect, and create communities.

 

Program

9^th April 2026

10:30 – 12:00

Online section presentation of the program and introduction of participants

12^th April 2026

15:00 – 17:30

Masterclass by Marta Andreu – “Lovesong, a Non-existent Film in Progress” (Club 3, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

13^th April 2026

10:00 – 12:00

Presentation by Ágnes Erőss (UNIBZ) – “In and Out of the Frame: Insider and Outsider Positions in Qualitative Visual Inquiry”. The presentation followed by a participatory role-playing game (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

15:00 – 17:00

Presentation by Isona Admetlla Font – “The Power of Audience Design Strategies: A story-based, humanist approach to designing audiences and amplifying film’s transformative impact” (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

17:15 – 18:45

Screening of the movie – “Sehnsucht in Sangerhausen” (Phantoms of July), by
Julian Radlmaier, (Duration: 90 min, Subtitled in English and Italian), Film projection followed by Q&A. (Capitol 2, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

18:15 – 19:45

Screening of the movie – “Carelia: International con Monumento”, by Andrès Duque, (Duration 90 mins, subtitled in English), Film projection followed by Q&A. (Club 3, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

14^th April 2026

10:00 – 12:00

Presentation by Matteo Cabrini – “JoVe: Video platform for Research and Education.” (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

13:00 – 15:00

Roundtable – “Women in filmmaking: ethics, internalized moral codes and (op)pressing hegemonies”. Participants: Diana Kudaibergenova (University College London), Karina Gaibulina (UNIBZ), Ágnes Erőss (UNIBZ), Veronika Kováč (Masaryk University, Brno), Joanna Janikowska (film director, Warsaw), Anna Irimiás (University of Trento). (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

16:00 – 18:00

Presentation by Marcello Barison (UNIBZ) – “The Eye and the Mirror. Cinema and Psychoanalysis from Bergman to Kubrick” (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

18:00 – 19:55

Screening of the movie – “Romería”, by Carla Simón (Duration 115 mins, subtitled in Italian and English). Film projection followed by Q&A. (Capitol 1, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

18:00

Talk – Filmstandort Südtirol / Cinema ecosystem in South Tyrol (Club 3, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

 

15^th April 2026

11:00– 13:00

Screening of the movie – “Space in Spotlight” by Yannik Noah Layer (Universität Freiburg, Germany) (2024, Germany,30 mins). Film projection followed by discussion with the film maker (Room D 1.01, University Campus, UNIBZ).

Space in Spotlight explores the city as a lived and socially constructed space. Developed from urban geographic research in Hamburg, the film uses scientific docu‑fiction to translate complex concepts into accessible storytelling. Guided by an actress moving through everyday urban situations, and interwoven with the voices of four residents, the film reveals how space is shaped by social norms, memory, public discourse and power dynamics, making hidden urban patterns visible and tangible.

15:00 – 17:00

Presentation by Chiara Bassetti (University of Trento) – “Microsociology meets computer science: Endowing artificial agents with interactional competences through ethnomethodological video analysis”. (Room D 0.02, University Campus UNIBZ)

17:45 – 19:40

Screening of the movie – “White Snail”, by Mikhail Khursevich, (Duration 115 mins, subtitled in Italian and English). Film projection followed by Q&A. (Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

16^th April 2026

10:00 – 10:40

Presentation by Karina Gaibulina (UNIBZ), Diana Kudaibergenova (University College London) – “Protests in art and the art of protest. The power of (audio)visuality in knowledge creation through direct co-creation practices” (Room D 1.02, University Campus, UNIBZ)

10:50 – 12:00

Screening of the movie – “Comrades”, by Joanna Janikowska, (Duration 61 minutes, subtitled in English). Film projection followed by Q&A (Room D 1.02, University Campus, UNIBZ)

Comrades is an empathetic documentary portrait of three young activists in Bologna confronting political ideals, generational conflict and personal disillusion. Following their engagement in a local communist party, the film captures the tension between collective hopes and everyday realities, revealing how social pressure, institutional inertia and private struggles challenge the possibility of meaningful change for a new generation.

17:30 – 20:00

Screening of the movie - “Elephants and Squirrels”, by Gregor Brändli, (Duration 114 mins, subtitled in Italian and English). Film projection followed by Q&A. (Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

18:00 – 20:11

Screening of the movie – “Paris Calligrames”, by Ulriche Öttinger, (Duration 131 mins, subtitled in Italian and English). Lifetime Achievement Award (Capitol 1, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).

17^th April 2026

10:00 – 12:00

Roundtable – “Creating impact beyond Academia: Documentary Film between Social Research, Public Engagements, and Festivals”, Participants: Daniela Giannetti (University of Bologna), Georg Zeller (UNIBZ), Farneti Roberto (UNIBZ), Vincenzo Bugno (BFFB) , Daniele Ietri (UNIBZ), Roberto Paci Daló (independent artist?)

14:15 – 15:15 Marta Rocchi (University of Bologna) “Seeing science: how audiovisual media shape scientific communication”. (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ). (Room F0.01, University Campus UNIBZ)

15:30 – 18:00

Projection of the documentary Giulio Regeni – Tutto il male del mondo (Italia, 2026, 105’) by Simone Manetti, followed by Q&A with the Filmmaker. (Capitol 1, Filmclub, Via Dr. Josef Streiter, 8/D).