Viva Brighton Issue #69 November 2018

Photo by Ben Bentley
CHARITY BOX #31: INTO FILM
What do you do at Into Film? We support
a network of 9,000 extra-curricular film clubs
across the UK. We train teachers in how to use
film in the classroom, to teach about film as well
as through film. We provide teaching resources
for use in clubs, in the classroom and beyond, to
help teachers get the most out of each screening,
giving them preparatory work to actively engage
the children in the film and follow-up work for
afterwards. Then there’s a whole industry-access
arm to what we do, which is about training
young reporters and encouraging young people
to consider film as a career.
Which age groups do you work with? The
whole lot: 5s to 19s. That’s predominantly children
in education (including home education).
What do they gain from it? If we’re talking
about trips to the cinema, the real benefits of
coming out of school to learn about film are that
it opens their eyes to new cultures and ideas and
stories. We introduce some young people for the
first ever time to their local cinema, and to films
they might not normally choose to see. And then
within the classroom, there are a whole range of
benefits: we tie in with the curriculum in each of
the nations around the UK and find direct links
to each subject area.
How do you choose which films to show? We
have a team who pick from the best of the output
and select films that speak directly to teachers,
tying in with what they’re teaching throughout
the year, or with calendar events, like Anti-Bullying
Week or Black History Month. We try
to create a bit of a journey that the teacher can
lead the children on – maybe they’ll watch a big
mainstream animation, and then move on to
some classical or stop-motion, and even some
Japanese anime – taking them from something
they’re familiar with onto some more challenging
content.
What’s on during the Into Film Festival?
Across the UK, we’re holding 2,500 free screening
events, divided into several topical strands.
The Year of the Woman is a particularly strong
strand this year. We’re working with F-Rated
to show films that are directed and written by
women, starring women, like The Breadwinner,
which is a beautiful animation – if you haven’t
seen it, it’s definitely one I would recommend.
There will also be workshops and discussions: in
Brighton we’re running a film stunt workshop
at Fabrica, where the students will get to learn
a fight scene. The events are all designed for
teachers or educators to bring groups of students
along to – all they need to do is go to the website
(intofilm.org/festival) and find out what events
are happening near them. They can filter by age
group, sensory impairment – we have access for
the visually and hearing impaired – and there are
autism-friendly screenings as well.
As told to Rebecca Cunningham by Sam Wilson
Into Film Festival, 7th – 23rd November
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