The AGE-C Dataset
A central outcome of the research project AGE-C: Ageing and Gender in European Cinema has been the publication of the AGE-C dataset together with the accompanying data paper, “AGE-C: A data-driven approach to ageing and gender in European cinema.”
The dataset contains information on 6,144 films and 13,356 individuals, including actors, directors, and documentary subjects, from the film industries of Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom between 2014 and 2023. It focuses on films featuring actors and documentary subjects above the age thresholds defined by the project and on films engaging with themes related to ageing.
The project was developed in response to the limited presence of age-focused perspectives within data-driven film and media research. While quantitative approaches have increasingly been used to study representation and labour inequalities in audiovisual industries, ageing has remained comparatively less explored, particularly in intersection with gender. The AGE-C dataset was designed to support comparative analysis of these questions across different European film cultures.
The dataset combines approaches from film studies, cultural gerontology, gender studies, and digital humanities. Its structure consists of interconnected subsets documenting films, genres, production contexts, awards, biographies, screen roles, and character attributes. At the centre of the project is a manually developed tagging system comprising 138 thematic and narrative tags. The tagging system enables the identification of recurring themes, character constellations, and representational patterns related to ageing across contemporary European cinema.
The accompanying data paper outlines the conceptual framework, methodological approach, and architecture of the dataset. It also presents preliminary findings concerning screen representation, film labour, and recurring thematic tendencies. Among the patterns identified in the dataset are the predominance of older actors in supporting and minor roles, the higher proportion of male-identifying actors and directors, and the recurrence of themes related to artistic creation, memory, family relations, and rural space.
The dataset is intended to support both quantitative and qualitative research. It can be used for comparative studies of representation, analyses of industrial structures, close readings of specific film corpora, and interdisciplinary research connecting cinema studies with broader debates on ageing and social representation. In addition to academic research, the dataset may also serve film curators, festival programmers, and cultural institutions interested in developing screenings, retrospectives, and thematic programmes focused on ageing and later life in European cinema.
The publication of the dataset and the accompanying paper establishes a foundation for further research on ageing and gender in European screen cultures.
Both the dataset and the accompanying data paper are published in open access format and can be accessed through the links below:
AGE-C: A data-driven approach to ageing and gender in European cinema
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