Our Activities Exchanges and Trainings

Launched in Bologna in 2005, the Audience Development & Innovation Labs are a flagship initiative of Europa Cinemas. Open to all European exhibitors, the Labs aim to inspire, encourage and empower more network members and professionals in the exhibition sector to innovate, exchange knowledge and evolve their practices in programming, communication, audience development and data management, in an increasingly dynamic digital environment. Over the past 30 years, Europa Cinemas has become involved in organising and coordinating joint initiatives across different territories.

Today, the Labs are fully embedded within a broader ecosystem championed by Europa Cinemas, fostering innovation, skills-sharing and cooperation among exhibitors, alongside initiatives such as Collaborate to Innovate, the Next/Change programmes, and the Training Boot Camps.

Sofia Innovation Lab

Launched in 2014, the Sofia Innovation Lab takes place every March during the Sofia International Film Festival. Its 11th edition, held from 19 to 22 March 2025, was titled Standing Out from the Crowd: How Communication and Marketing Can Strengthen Your Cinema’s Identity. It brought together 34 exhibitors from across Europe for hands-on discussions around key challenges facing the sector, particularly in relation to communication, brand identity and audience development.

Bologna Innovation Lab

Held annually since 2005 in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna as part of the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, the Bologna Lab returns each year as a key fixture. The 2024 edition, from 22 to 26 June, explored audience development strategies centred on sustainability, inclusion and innovation. Topics included storytelling, building meaningful collaborations, designing new approaches to community engagement and marketing (both online and offline), as well as reimagining cinema spaces for the next generation of cinemagoers.

Valladolid Innovation Lab

Previously held in Seville, the third Innovation Lab now takes place biennially in autumn in Valladolid. Organised in partnership with the Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI), the most recent edition took place from 25 to 28 October 2023 at the Palacio de Villena. Entitled Reaching New Audiences: Rethinking and Diversifying Your Practices and Resources, it gathered exhibitors from across Europe to explore innovative strategies in digital marketing, programming and communication. The next edition will take place at the end of 2025.

Key themes and collaborative formats

Each Lab brings together around 40 professionals from some 20 European countries. Shaped by feedback from network members, the sessions address topics such as:

- Audience development and engaging younger generations

- Digital communication strategies and use of social media

- Team skills development

- Data management

- Inclusion, sustainability and the transformation of cinema spaces

"Open Slot" sessions allow participants to share specific challenges or propose collaborative projects. The Labs thus foster experience-sharing and the co-creation of tailored solutions to the contemporary challenges facing the sector.