For the second consecutive year, the MOLDOX International Documentary Film Festival has organised a workshop for teachers entitled “How to Use Documentary Film in Education.” Teachers who took part in the workshop will receive complimentary invitations and will be able to attend selected screenings at the festival’s 11th edition together with their students. The festival will take place in Chișinău from 25 to 29 November 2026.
A group of teachers passionate about documentary filmmaking, who teach subjects such as Education for Society, Film Education, Personal Development, English Language, and others, came together over the weekend to explore the world of documentary film, exchange experiences, and learn how to integrate documentaries into the educational process. Documentary film is a powerful, engaging learning tool that encourages active participation, empathy, and civic dialogue.
Designed as a safe, practical, and collaborative learning environment, the workshop gave teachers the opportunity to explore the differences between documentary and fiction filmmaking. Beyond the theoretical component, participants took part in three practical lesson simulations addressing pressing social issues:
- Identity and diversity;
- Social urbanism and inclusion;
- Self-reflection on personal values and emotional awareness.
For these exercises, the teachers worked with a selection of short films: My Foreign Dad, Troleibuze, Liuba nu e singură, and the project Ieșire în lume (created by Natalia Gârbu). Most of these productions were made as part of the MOLDOX Lab workshops. The short format of these documentaries makes them particularly well suited to the timeframe of a classroom lesson, offering an engaging and dynamic starting point while also opening up opportunities for reflection and dialogue.
During the second part of the workshop, participants developed the framework for a complete film-based learning session. They explored every stage of the viewing experience—before, during, and after the screening—as well as ways to integrate films into the experiential learning cycle and methods for helping students critically analyse what they see on screen.
However, classroom time is limited and rarely allows for the screening of a full-length documentary. This makes attending the festival an especially valuable opportunity for students. In the cinema, young audiences can fully experience a feature-length documentary and, subsequently, return to the classroom to discuss powerful stories and connect them directly to important issues in social life.
At MOLDOX, we believe that young people need safe spaces where they can discuss the world around them, their values, and the social challenges of our time. Documentary film opens a door to empathy, enabling audiences of all ages to better understand complex issues such as human rights, the environment, equality, online safety, and civic courage through real human stories.
This year, as part of the MOLDOX International Documentary Film Festival (25–29 November 2026, in Chișinău, at Cineplex Loteanu), we have prepared a special film programme for young audiences (ages 12+ and 16+).
📌 How can your class take part?
- Free admission for schools – Teachers and class supervisors can submit a request to bring groups of students to the festival’s special screenings free of charge. To arrange a group visit, please contact us at public@moldoxfestival.com.
- Guaranteed access for workshop participants – Teachers who attended the workshop on 8 November have become ambassadors for film education and are guaranteed access to MOLDOX 2026 screenings together with their students.
Let’s bring documentary film into classrooms and turn cinema screenings into meaningful opportunities for dialogue and the development of critical thinking!
*The workshop for teachers was organised by the MOLDOX team and facilitated by Ayna Idrisova, organizational impact & learning consultant.
*The workshop was hosted by Diversitate Centre for Non-Formal Education in Chișinău, our festival partner.