Sigma Sixth Tendring Course Guide

A LEVEL FILM STUDIES “I think audiences get too comfortable and familiar with today’s movies. They believe everything they’re hearing and seeing. I like to shake that up” Christopher Nolan Film is one of the main cultural innovations of the 20th century and a major art form of the last hundred years. Those who study it characteristically bring with them a high degree of enthusiasm and excitement for what is a powerful and culturally significant medium, inspiring a range of responses from the emotional to the reflective. Studying film allows greater insight into important issues and developments within history, society and culture. At Sigma Sixth we teach an appreciation for film as an art form because of its capacity for visual storytelling and how film enhances understanding of the world in terms of competing values, attitudes and beliefs. Key moral issues are examined through topics like “identity”, focusing on race, gender, sexuality and inequality. We believe that the Film Studies curriculum should be founded on the acquisition of the core knowledge necessary to develop a deep understanding of the subject. This will be achieved by developing students’ fluency in the ability to express themselves in the language of Film. CURRICULUM STATEMENT Component 1: Varieties of film and filmmaking. • Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990 (comparative study). • Section B: American film since 2005 (two-film study). • Section C: British film since 1995 (two-film study). • Written examination 35%. Component 2: Global filmmaking perspectives. • This component assesses knowledge and understanding of five feature-length films. • Written examination 35%. Component 3: Production. • One production and its evaluative analysis. • Non-exam assessment 30%. COURSE CONTENT Students need to have achieved a minimum of 6 grades 5-9 incl. English and Maths and a grade 6 in English Language. ENTRY CRITERIA