Can Film Education Change The World?

Everyone is a native in film. Cinema is a shared language across all cultures. Everyone is fluent in the moving image. From our earliest years, we are left alone to build a relationship with TV and film while our parents and guardians take care of other matters. This means that film is a universal language. You don’t have to be able to read to understand film. Unlike going to the theatre, dance, or opera, you don’t have to have access to a large wage to watch films. So few houses these days are filled with books, but almost every household will have a subscription to a streaming service. 
Nearly everybody carries a device in their pocket on which they can watch films, make their own films by recording, editing, and sharing their take on the world from the very same device.
This equity of access is a great leveler, as it ensures everyone can engage with the world of film watching and filmmaking.

But how do we take this understanding of cinema further? How can we harness this universal language to allow us to develop skills in literacy, interpretation of the world around us, build confidence, and also improve employability? How can educational bodies at the national, regional, and civic levels use film to meet their aims? We are delighted to welcome Veerle Snijders, head of Netwerk Filmeducatie at the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam, Peter Murray from Into Film, the UK’s leading film education charity and Liina Särkinen from Kinomaja Filmikool, Tallinn to talk about how their organisations connect with young people in each of their countries, the opportunities that they can offer them and the incredible impact it has had on their lives and their place in the nation’s workforce.