Screening Literacy: a survey of European Film Education

Mark Reid

Head of Education, BFI

20th May 2013 1

In a

Screening Literacy: a survey of European Film Education

Mark Reid

Head of Education, BFI

20th May 2013 22

The Tender Specification of the European Commission requested

a report mapping the current practices in

film literacy in Europe

Research Question

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A European-scale experts study which identifies and analyses film literacy provision in Europe in formal and informal settings, and all age groups:

Film literacy and AV national policy; film industry; broadcasters

National Curricula: single subject or cross-curricula; learning objectives;

Informal sector: film institutes, NGOs, grassroots groups

Role of film industry and media professionals in film literacy projects

Examples of good practice

27 EU, 3 EEA nations, plus Croatia and Switzerland

Policy recommendations to EC, for Creative Europe

Research Objectives

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The Terms of Reference for the survey included a definition of film literacy, later amended, as follows:

the level of understanding of a film, the ability to be conscious and curious in the choice of films; the competence to critically watch a film and to analyse its content, cinematography and technical aspects; and the ability to manipulate its language and technical resources in creative moving image production

EC Definition of Film Literacy

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To be literate is to participate fully in a culture

To participate fully in 21C culture, we

have to be literate in the moving image

It is vital and obvious that understanding, manipulating, and appreciating the film sentence

should be an accepted part of the education

system Anthony Minghella

Film, Media, as Literacy

Film, Media or Literacy?

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Research team

27

Advisory group of experts Vitor Reia-Baptista Laszlo Hartai Simone Moraldi Irene Andriopoulou Sara Duve

Ian Wall

Film Education

Andrew Burn

Institute of Education, London University

Mark Reid

BFI

Wendy Earle, Project Manager

Caren Willig Michelle Cannon Kate Domaille

National Research partners - Phase 1 Polish Film Institute EYE /NDS Film Institute Irish Film Institute Uni of Algarve

University of Roma Tre Vision Kino Hungarian MPAA Slovenian Film Centre CZ

National Film Archive Hellenic Audio-Visual Inst. Station Next (Denmark)

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Phase 1 Survey -- January until March 2012: Online questionnaire sample of 12 nations via Survey Monkey

Case studies of 3 sectors in each nation

2pp summary of film education provision in each nation

Survey triangulated by third parties

Advisory group seminar on 26th March to refine questionnaires and absorb initial findings

Phase 2 Survey -- May until July 2012: Questionnaires and case studies from 20 nations

Fewer case studies as examples of good models

Transnational projects examined

Additional surveys - heritage, families, cinemas

Phasing the Research

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Short Report Sept 2012: 12pp Exec Summary (suitable for presentation to general public)

Description of methodology

1-2 page summary picture for each nation

Recommendations

Full Report end of 2012: Expanded findings

50+ case studies

Focus on transnational programmes

Sections on family, cinema-based, and archive film education

Online publication on the European Commission website and shorter print version to be disseminated

Deliverables

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Czech Republic Report er: Pavel Bednarik, independent

fil m pr ofess ional, Nat ional Film Arc hive

(Narodni fi lmovy arc hiv) Prague

Researcher: Caren Wil lig

Overv iew

Population 10,532,770

Percen tage of school age

chi ldren:

0-14 years: 14.4%

15-24 years: 12.1%

There is no nat ional fi lm education st rategy yet , but in Janu ary 2012 an exp ert group

was set up by t he Ministr y of Cultu re t o develop a stra tegy in 2012. The on ly

prev ious d ocum ent briefl y m ent ioning t he imp ortance of fi lm education and of a

nat ional f i lm st rategy, wa s t he Concept ion of Cin ematography o f t he Czech Republ ic

2010-2016 (agreed by t he Parl iam ent in 2010).

Formal education

The nat ional govern m ent dec ides t he count ry s cur r icul um . The cur ricul um is based on Fram ew ork Educat ional Program mes suggesti ons to t he sc hools sup ported and financed by th e local auth or i ties. Scho ols t hen creat e School Educat ional Program mes, wh ich are di ff erent in every school. Film educat ion is part of media educat ion f ro m ages 5-19. It support s other subjects and social and civi l education.

There are som e nati onal guidel ines on medi a education t hat include fi lm education.

Fi lm is not st udied or exam ined as a separat e su bject , but hist ory of fi lm is part of

th e cur riculu m in his to ry o f li terat u re in t he final exam s at high scho ol. No records

of achievem ent s in f i lm education are col lected. Info rma l aft er- /ou t -of sc hool

program mes are offered by nat ional , regional and local cul tura l and volunt ary

organisat ions and by som e schools.

An est imat ed 40% of sch ool ch i ldren receive som e fo rm of fi lm educati on .

Informal education

There is no nat ional inf rast ru ctur e to sup port informal education. Inf ormal fi lm

educat ion is pr ovided by independent organisat ions funded year on year by t he governm ent , the MEDIA program me, and t he Eur opean Social Fund w ho organise fil m screenings and education mat erial s. On a regional level, t here are fi lm

soci eties, stud ent fi lm clubs, and som e fi lm cl ubs f or chi l dren and young people.

Fi lm education is p rovi ded as part of medi a educati on, to sup port ot her field s of

int erest , to pr om ote cri tica l view ing and fi lm m aking. There is n o record of how

mu ch fund ing informal fi lm educati on gets and no at tem pt to measu re

achievem ent.

Aud io v isual sector

The fi lm indus t ry funds such activitie s as screenings for scho ols, festiva l education

program mes, and som e dist rib u tors fund educational cam ps fo r young fi lm makers.

There are also ti cket discount p rogram m es, fi lm course s, and sp ecial screenings

wit h int roducti ons by invite d speakers.

Broadcaster s help develop fi lm li teracy by ai ring archive, Eur opean and W orld

Cinema fi lms, and t he second public serv ice channel shows fi lm classic s in t he

context of fi lm cl ubs. These p rogram m es are only aim ed at older youth and adul ts, th ere is nothing for chi ldren, apart fro m a couple of f ranchise TV channels fo r

chi ldren, bu t only on pay cable TV and w eekend program mes f or chi ldren, but t hese

are not educational platf orms.

Czech publi c serv ice television (Channel 2) com m issio ned a fi lm li teracy series, but

aft er t he appointm ent of a new di rector and int ernal st aff changes, t he pr oject

stopp ed.

Cultural bodies

There are severa l cult u ral agencies w hose rem it incl udes fi lm . The nat ional ones -

fun ded by t he govern ment and t he Minist ry o f Cu ltur e - are t he Czech Film Cent er

and t he Czech Fi lm Com m issi on, but t hey subsid ise and pr om ote t he Czech fi lm

indus t ry , but not fi lm education. Their sup port f or in formal fi lm educat ion

provid ers is limite d t o advertisi ng t heir act ivi ties in bull etin s and w ebsites . The

regional fil m agencies p rogramm e screenings fo r sc hools and young people, off er

onl i ne resources fo r young people, and run other activitie s fo r local com m unitie s.

Thei r grants com e fro m th e Ministr y of Cultu re, t he MEDIA pr ogram m e, t he

Visegra d fund (partly ), and European Social Funds (Educati on fo r Com petitiv eness

Program me).

Fi lm heri tage is preserve d by a national fi lm archive (govern m ent funded), by

com m erciall y funded special ist fi lm arc hives, and by other governm ent - fu nded

museum s or arc hive col lect ions.

The Czech Republ ic is unique in t he num ber of fi lm festivals t hey offer (because of

th e lack of a st rategy of th e nat ional body t o sup port of t he festival s according to

pr iorities ). Abou t 11 festivals , all funded in dif fere nt ways , are aimed at chi l dren,

you ng people, local com mu n ities, and special int erest groups. Fi lm education

provisi on is not a requi rem ent for fun ding.

There are som e att empt s t o measu re and record learners achievem ents on a nat ional level, bu t t hese are not based on any st rategy and have a very limite d

imp act.

Professional dev elopmen t

There is t rai n ing on of fer f or in-serv ice teachers and academ ics, but tha t consist s

only o f a few short courses or pr ojects re aching a l imit ed number of teachers. There

are Minist ry o f cult u re p roject gran ts fo r t hese (no bursary schemes). The pro jects

cont inu e as accredited pr ogram mes f or dist ance educat ion only at t he fi lm studies

departm ent in Olomouc (Palacky Univers i ty) . There are short courses tha t of fer

dipl omas.

Country Summary Example

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aims and purposes of film education

strategies in place; types of provision

in the classroom, after school, outside school

funded, assessed

providers and recipients

Main Findings

Why?

What?

Where?

How?

Who?

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National strategies - What

National strategies endorsed by Ministries of Education and Culture

Norway, France, Croatia,

Northern Ireland, Denmark

High levels of co-ordination

between national agencies

Sweden, Poland,

Netherlands, Germany,

Finland

Film education is strong, where wider film culture is

valued. Otherwise no national strategies reported

NB, federal states like Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain,

Portugal

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A strong model of film education

What would it look like, for you?

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A high degree of co-ordination across sectors (education and culture agencies

in government; NGOs; film and broadcast agencies) supported by a national

strategic plan

Entitlement on behalf of all people to become literate in the moving image

(watching, understanding, making)

Being part of a wider culture in film, that supports education and access to film

for a range of people - children, older people, diverse and marginal groups

Learners, and learning, are valued as highly in informal, as in formal education

Strong Models of Film Education

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A commitment to having provision robustly and independently evaluated

High levels of participation in film education, in activities that are sustained

across a period of time, with measured and recorded outcomes

Funding responsibilities will be distributed across public, commercial,

education and cultural sectors, and delivered around a shared national plan

The film education workforce has recognisable and funded professional

development opportunities from entry level to expert status, and with

accreditation to validate their development

Strong Models of Film Education

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Some key examples

Trans-national programmes: le cinema cent ans de jeunesse; Europa Cinemas; DocNext network

German film literacy competence statements

Filmoteka Szkolna, Poland

MovieZone, NL

A Wider Literacy, Northern Ireland

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Translation Fund for joining or inflecting programmes and resources that are valued in other nations

Support for further research especially on take-up and impact of film education programmes

Create a set of models of film education that suit different settings

Priority to be given to exploring and developing programmes for families and diverse communities, and for developing activity in accession states Support and guidance on exploiting heritage film, and changes to IP law required Develop models of professional development across the sector, including a European MA in Film Education

A Film Literacy Advisory Group to advise on priority areas for funding, and to steer research

Recommendations

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Film literacys potential to be translated into different:

Platforms (YouTube; cinemas; galleries; TV; mobile phones)

Social purposes (industry skills; citizenship; creativity; wider literacy)

Artforms (music; drama; art and design)

Subjects (history; language learning; geography; science)

A Note on Translatability

Europe is a culture of translation;

why not film literacy? 10th May 2013 38 2nd Media Literacy Congress Lisbon

What Next?

Derry seminar: 4 June Creative Europe funding; Film Literacy Advisory Group; NI case study Filmliteracyadvisorygroup.wordpress.com www.cityofculture2013.com/event/screening-literacy

Publication of Screening Literacy end of May: Executive Summary in print + online Country Profiles, Case Studies online www.bfi.org.uk/screeningliteracy

20th May 2013