Exam Board: Eduqas

Why study Film?

Cinema is not only entertainment: it's the art and cultural product of our time. For anyone passionate about history, texts and images – and how to interpret them – film studies is the ideal course.  It offers you specialist preparation for jobs in the cinema and media industries, as well as more general training in essential arts graduate skills, from constructing an argument to practical criticism.  Learners will develop an appreciation of a variety of film forms and deepen their understanding of critical approaches to cinema.

 

How is Film Studies assessed?

Students are assessed by extended written essays responding to questions about their studied films and contexts.  Students will submit a written essay about the unit of study chosen by their teacher every half-term.  Mock exams will take place twice a year.  Feedback will be a mixture of written and verbal feedback where students will be given time in lesson to redraft sections of their written work.

At the end of the two-year study students will complete two exams and submit a coursework production piece.  These components are:

• Component 1- Varieties of film and filmmaking (35% Exam)
• Component 2- Global filmmaking perspectives (35% Exam)
• Component 3- Film Production (30% Non-Exam Assessment)- Learners produce 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, and an evaluative analysis of either production (1600 - 1800 words).

Films Studied over the two-year course include:

• Sunrise (Murnau, 1927)
• Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
• Alien (Scott, 1980)
• Get Out (Peele, 2017)
• La La Land (Coen brothers, 2007)
• Belfast (Branagh, 2021), 12
• This is England (Meadows, 2006)
• Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006)
• Taxi Tehran (Panahi, Iran, 2015)
• Amy (Kapadia, UK, 2015)
• Fallen Angels (Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 1995)

In the future:

A Level Film Studies will not automatically offer learners a career in the film industry. Practical work experience is often the way forward, usually starting as a runner or getting involved with other local film makers, and production companies to build a portfolio of work and industry contacts.

Those seeking to pursue Film Studies beyond A-level will have a wide selection of courses to choose from, some with a theory bias and others providing more practical training specialising in production or post-production.  Film Studies at degree level is very competitive with the average entry requirements ranging from AAB to BBB.

Curriculum Maps

The topics we study are outlined in our curriculum maps: