An initiative of the EU MEDIA
Programme with the support of the Italian Government
Since 1992 MEDIA Salles has been
promoting the European cinema and its circulation at theatrical level
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FOCUS
ON EUROPE - Kidflix Special - Speciale ragazzi
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Euro:
Vision Cinema-going in Ireland
Promoting film culture
Film and School Although it is widely acknowledged that film is the most popular medium among young audiences, it is not regarded as a subject in its own right in the Irish school curriculum. At primary level it appears in the visual arts area of the syllabus and children are also encouraged to be critical viewers of media. At secondary level, film appears in the English syllabus, to be compared with a written text. Film also has a place in the art and music syllabi. Alongside these areas, in the schools dept. we recognise the need to promote visual literacy among young people so that they can become critical viewers and are enabled to make informed choices from the range of media available. Screening European Film for
Schools Our German, French and Spanish film programmes are particularly popular. Each year we choose a new title in these languages to screen here in Dublin and then at venues around the country. These venues comprise arts centres, an independent cinema, and commercial cinemas. We create detailed study guides to accompany the films, with previewing and post viewing activities. Our German language film project is now in its 7th year and this year we showed Good Bye Lenin at 24 venues, to a schools' audience of over 4,000. We operate on a not-for-profit basis, but try to keep the ticket price to students to a minimum to cover costs. Our studyguides are available to teachers and can also be downloaded free from our website www.irishfilm.ie These guides are created around several principle themes of the film, which are also fundamental to the language syllabus eg. family, friendship, growing up etc. Language activities are developed around these, keeping with the structure of the film itself. Although the films are shown in subtitles, even when students are resistant to these - as English language speakers often are - the key to comprehension is the fact that the film reveals its story through the international language of film. There is a concern that film is often only used in the school curriculum in an instructive way - in other words film can be used in the science lesson or the history lesson. Film is rarely seen as an art form in its own right and it is this that we attempt to address by showing complete films and encouraging students through discussion, worksheets and follow-up talks, to appreciate and enjoy the film in its own right. The key to our programme is that films can be enjoyed - not endured - so we bear this in mind when selecting our titles. Irish Film Building a future audience Alicia McGivern June 2004
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