AGE-C is an international research project that explores how ageing and gender are represented in contemporary European cinema. Bringing together five European universities, including Film Studies at King's, the project combines film studies, cultural gerontology, and digital methods to better understand how cinema shapes perceptions of age, identity, and social roles.

At the core of AGE-C is a unique, data-driven dataset covering over 6000 films released between 2014–2023 produced and released in nine European countries. The dataset collects data on fiction, documentary and animation feature films in relation to filmmakers and ageing actors’ biographical details. It also includes data on roles, marketing, nationality, genres, film awards, documentary subjects and film characters. An innovative tag system relates characters and films to topics in gerontology, describing their narrative and thematic content, as well. The dataset also factors in awards and film festivals, illuminating the gender gap affecting 50+ actors. It enables new forms of research by connecting qualitative film analysis with quantitative insights, revealing patterns in representation, career trajectories of ageing actors, and cross-cultural trends.

AGE-C has created a public-facing web tool that enables browsing the database in a user-friendly way. Join our online presentation on June 3rd to learn more about the project, explore the dataset, and discover our interactive webtool designed to make this research accessible to scholars, practitioners, educators, and the wider public.