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. Film Studies consequently makes an important contribution to the curriculum, offering the opportunity to investigate how film works both as a medium of representation and as an aesthetic medium. The course is designed to introduce A level learners to a wide variety of films in order to broaden their knowledge and understanding of film and the range of responses films can generate. This course therefore offers opportunities to study mainstream American films from the past and the present as well as a range of recent and contemporary British films, American independent films and global films, both non-English language and English language. The historical range of film represented in those films is extended by the study of silent film and significant film movements so that learners can gain a sense of the development of film from its early years to its still emerging digital future. Studies in documentary, experimental and short films add to the breadth of the learning experience. Production work is a crucial part of this course and is integral to learners' study of film. Studying a diverse range of films from several different contexts is designed to give learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding of how films are constructed to their own filmmaking and screenwriting. This is intended to enable learners to create high quality film and screenplay work as well as provide an informed filmmaker's perspective on their own study of film. Structure of the Course We follow Eduqas Exam Board Specification for A Level Film Studies. Component 1 (Exam, 35% of mark): Varieties of film and filmmaking Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990 (comparative study) Section B: American film since 2005 /2012 (two-film study) Section C: British film since 1995 (two-film study) Component 2 (Exam, 35% of mark): Filmmaking perspectives Section A: Global film (two-film study) Section B: Documentary film Section C: Film movements – Silent cinema Section D: Film movements – Experimental film (1960-2001) Component 3: (Non-Exam Assessment, 30% of mark): Production Either a short film (4-5 minutes) or a screenplay for a short film (1600-1800 words) plus a digitally photographed storyboard of a key section from the screenplay