Film Studies A Level

What You Will Study

If you love film and are interested in studying a wide range of different types from blockbusters to indie, foreign language films and experimental cinema, this course is for you. This creative course will encourage you to watch, analyse, discuss and write about films from different perspectives.

You will analyse camera work, editing, sound, and performance and consider how films reflect the attitudes and ideologies of a particular time, place, and culture. You will develop theoretical and practical skills by studying a range of films and case studies, exploring film analysis techniques, the film industry and film audiences.

You will study critical approaches to films which will engage you with a range of philosophical debates around cinema from psychoanalytical to postmodernist. Following the Eduqas syllabus, you will focus on The Hollywood film history (Alien, Captain Fantastic, Vertigo) and movements (German Expressionism), along with the opportunity to study a range of critically acclaimed contemporary films such as: Memento, Promising Young Woman, Under the Skin, Little Women, Joker, and La La Land.

You will also learn about European and world cinema including Pan’s Labyrinth, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Wild Tales, and City of God. Additionally you will study documentary and experimental film such as Exit Through the Gift Shop (by Banksy), and Asif Kapadias, Amy. Alongside this you will learn to apply what you have learnt by shooting and editing tasks throughout the year.

Workshops in creative writing, cinematography, lighting, sound, and editing will hone your film production skills so that in the second year you will produce either a short film, or screenplay with photographed storyboard, as part of your coursework.