AGE-C at NECS 2026: Advancing Research on Ageing and Gender in European Cinema
The AGE-C consortium took an active role at the 2026 conference of the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS), held in Montpellier, France, under the theme “In/Visible.” Bringing together scholars from across Europe and beyond, the conference explored the many ways visibility and invisibility shape contemporary media cultures, a theme that closely resonates with AGE-C’s research on ageing and gender in European cinema.
Throughout the conference, researchers from the AGE-C consortium organised workshops, presented research across several thematic panels and engaged in discussions on ageing, gender, stardom, care, mental health and audiovisual representation. Together, these contributions showcased the project’s interdisciplinary and comparative approach to understanding how later life is represented across European screen cultures.
Workshop: Who Gets to Age on Screen? A Data-Driven Approach to (In)Visibility in European Cinema
AGE-C’s conference programme began with the workshop “Who Gets to Age on Screen? A Data-Driven Approach to (In)Visibility in European Cinema,” led by Asja Makarević (Goethe University Frankfurt), Boglárka Angéla Farkas (Babeș-Bolyai University), Olena Gepper (Goethe University Frankfurt) and Tony Tracy.
The workshop introduced participants to AGE-C’s innovative research methodology, demonstrating how the project combines large-scale quantitative data with close qualitative analysis to investigate patterns of representation across contemporary European cinema. Participants discussed how digital methods can help identify structural inequalities in the visibility of older characters while complementing traditional approaches in film studies.
Panel: Ageing, Care and Mental Health in Contemporary European Comedies
AGE-C researchers also contributed to the panel “Ageing, Care and Mental Health in Contemporary European Comedies,” chaired by Raphaëlle Moine (Sorbonne Nouvelle University) and endorsed by the Ageing, Life Course and Media workgroup. The session examined how contemporary European cinema represents ageing, dementia, care and mental health through comedy, highlighting the complex relationship between humour, vulnerability and later life.
The panel featured two presentations by AGE-C researchers:
- Adrien Valgalier (Sorbonne Nouvelle University) explored how comedy reframes cinematic representations of dementia in Illness as a Comic Principle: Reframing Dementia through Comedy in Un homme pressé (Hervé Mimran, 2018) and La Finale (Robin Sykes, 2018).
- Luis Freijo (King’s College London) presented What Ageing Does to Genres: The Interplay of Comedy, Drama and Dementia in European Cinema, examining how genre conventions influence representations of ageing and cognitive decline.
Together, the papers demonstrated how comedy can challenge dominant narratives surrounding illness and later life while revealing new ways of thinking about care, vulnerability and ageing on screen.
Workshop: South–North Dialogues or South as Method
The AGE-C consortium was also represented in the international workshop “South–North Dialogues or South as Method,” in which Vinzenz Hediger participated alongside scholars from Europe and South Africa. The workshop explored alternative epistemologies, collaborative research practices and new perspectives for international film and media studies, contributing to ongoing discussions about knowledge production beyond established academic centres.
Panel: In/Visible Women – Gender, Power and Cinematic Regimes of Visibility
Questions of visibility and gender were further explored in the panel “In/Visible Women: Gender, Power, and Cinematic Regimes of Visibility in Eastern Europe.” AGE-C researcher Andrea Virginás (Babeș-Bolyai University) presented research on the careers of women filmmakers in Hungary, Romania and Poland, analysing how age, gender and industrial structures shape professional visibility across contemporary European cinema.
The presentation contributed to broader debates on representation, authorship and gender inequality within European film industries.
Panel: Invisible? Transnational Approaches to Ageing and Stardom
The conference concluded with another AGE-C panel, “Invisible? Transnational Approaches to Ageing and Stardom,” chaired by Cinta Pelejà (Goethe University Frankfurt) and endorsed by the Ageing, Life Course and Media workgroup. The panel examined how ageing reshapes cinematic stardom across different national and cultural contexts.
The session brought together four AGE-C-related perspectives:
- Tony Tracy discussed affirmative ageing and the later films of Robert Redford.
- Boglárka Angéla Farkas explored transnational middle-age stardom through the work of actor Vlad Ivanov.
- Asja Makarević analysed the changing visibility of female stardom in post-Yugoslav cinema through the career of Ksenija Marinković.
- Małgorzata Bugaj examined how the performances of June Squibb challenge conventional narratives of decline associated with later life.
Taken together, the presentations demonstrated how ageing is not simply a biological process but also a cultural and cinematic phenomenon that reshapes ideas of celebrity, performance, gender and visibility.
Looking Ahead
NECS 2026 provided an important opportunity for the AGE-C consortium to share research findings, exchange methodologies and strengthen collaborations with scholars working across film, media and cultural studies.
Across workshops and panels, AGE-C researchers addressed questions that lie at the heart of the project: Who becomes visible on screen? How are ageing and gender represented across European cinema? And how can new methodological approaches help us better understand these patterns?
The lively discussions in Montpellier reaffirmed the importance of interdisciplinary, comparative and data-informed approaches to studying ageing in European cinema. The conversations initiated at NECS will continue to inform AGE-C’s ongoing research, publications and future collaborative activities.
Written by: Olena Gepper
Image credits: AGE-C team