Bringing film into school

Film in school - a wider picture

Easy access to films is a basic premise for teaching film. How do we gain access to film to use in the classroom or decide which films are relevant and also suitable for classroom use? Also, which films have suitable resources already available to use with students?

Bringing film into school

As self-evident as this may seem, a lot of teachers in schools all over Europe still struggle with the simple challenge to get access to films suited for education which they are actually allowed to screen in the classroom.

The issue about access to film is not just a challenge for the individual teacher. It is also a basic premise for a broader film educational practice on a national level. No films – no film education.

Building a national or local film catalogue for schools is one way to solve this problem. It can be done in different ways and scales - and with different levels of ambition. But even a small film catalogue can be a big help for teachers and a way to promote a broader film educational practice.

In this section we will focus on important aspects on building a film catalogue for schools. In each step you will be encouraged and inspired to consider the conditions as they are now in your own country/region – and to consider ways to improve existing solutions or building new ones. And by the end of the section you will be encouraged to make your own sketch for a school film catalogue in your own country or region.

The main aspects we will focus on are:


Selecting Film
Selecting Film

How to find and choose films that are suitable for education.


Distribution
Distribution

Establishing technology and infrastructure that suit local schools.


Film and educational resources
Film and educational resources

How to make the teaching materials visible and accessible.


Partnerships
Partnerships

Establishing a coherence between films and educational material.

Task

Consider the general conditions for distributing film in schools in your own country/region and write your thoughts in the notepad below:

  • Can you point out some main obstacles - and/or good solutions or recommendations regarding access to film in school - for teachers who want to practice film education?
  • If you do not have a national body who provides a catalogue – what can you actually do as a teacher?

My Notepad

Use this notepad feature to write down answers and your thoughts to questions posed throughout this resource.

Open Notepad

Use the Tag option to insert the name of this section as a reference before typing your notes.

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