Budding Filmmakers and Professional Training in Germany

Within the framework of a comprehensive aesthetics awareness program the aim of film education is to convey to young people just what kind of impact audio-visual media are capable of having. In the past however this has been somewhat neglected in German schools. Nevertheless for quite a few years now the filmmaking business, cultural institutions and educational establishments have been campaigning for film education to become an interdisciplinary subject in its own right in school syllabi all over the country.

The project was first given the go-ahead at a conference held back in 2003 called Kino macht Schule (a German wordplay meaning ‘Cinema Is Catching On’) that was organised by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education in collaboration with the German Federal Film Board. It was there they decided on a Filmkompetenzerklärung (Declaration of Film Competence) in which they demanded that the medium of film should become a subject in its own right in school syllabi. This was followed by the founding of the Vision Kino gGmbH – the Network for Film and Media Competence. This institution with its headquarters in Potsdam promotes and supports the setting up of the necessary structures for the scheme all over the country, initiates numerous projects like the Schulkinowochen (Schools Cinema Weeks) and provides schools with teaching materials for the subject of film education and with assistance from media educators.

The present situation in Germany

Despite the fact that the program is simple and easily accessible the federalised education system in Germany makes it difficult to firmly anchor a film education curriculum in the syllabi of the various individual federal states. Although the educational standards specified by the Kultusministerkonferenz (the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany) form the overriding framework for the way specialised subjects are to be taught in the individual states, these educational standards take different forms in the various states. This is why at the moment the subject of film education is more or less dependent on how dedicated particular teachers and schools are – teachers who are prepared to invest their own free time in extra-curricular film education projects and to do extra training courses.

The Hanseatic city of Bremen might well be a role model for other German states – starting this year film education is now a mandatory element of the German course for the Zentralabitur (the German higher education entrance qualification). The exam candidates had to deal with an exam question on the film about the eponymous hero, Woyzeck, made by Werner Herzog in 1979.

The aims of film education as a school subject

Children and teenagers grow up these days bombarded with media – movies, TV, videos, DVDs, as well as the “new media” like computer games, multi-media mobile phones and the Internet. For them using them is simply a matter of course and that is why they are often more savvy about them than grown-ups, but they rarely develop ample reflexive knowledge.

The practical skills they have developed however could be of great benefit to one of film education’s main undertakings - making one’s own film. This would be just one of the many possible activities to be found in a film education course, alongside theoretical film analysis and the creative and productive reappraisal of existing feature and documentary films from which, for example, the students could create their own illustrated stories based on the film or write the screenplay for a sequel. This sensually creative approach often turns out to be a very positive experience for students from non-academically inclined and socially underprivileged backgrounds.

Apart from building up their self-esteem this form of practical, as well as theoretical, encounter with film also broadens their intellectual horizons. Films can open up new vistas of different cultures and lifestyles or make people more aware of their own personal situation.

Furthermore the teamwork required when working on a film project is of long-term benefit when it comes to integration and also promotes the students’ soft skills. Undiscerning consumers are turned into discerning thinkers who become thoroughly familiar with the ins and outs of the filmmakers’ trade and the impact it has. This practical side of the film education course however also requires a whole range of technical equipment that is normally not available in schools.

Film education in Europe

It has been proven that the way film education courses enhance a student’s personality development has much more impact than the formal imparting of course content. This is why in France, Sweden, Great Britain and the Netherlands film awareness has been firmly anchored for quite some time in school curricula all over those countries; it is not just the medium of film, but also media education that enjoys much greater prestige in those countries than in Germany. It is a matter of course that pupils of all ages go to the cinema several times a year and they also have the opportunity to channel their personal interests into some form of project work and have it graded as part of their overall scholastic assessment.

In Great Britain the British Film Institute (BFI) with its concept of “moving image media education” plays a leading role in the development and coordination of film education courses. In France, too, the “seventh art”, as it is known there, has been an integral part of the national education program for many years. The book L'hypothèse cinéma (The Aesthetics of Film) by filmmaker and film theorist, Alain Bergala, is considered to be a major reference work way beyond the borders of France. Alain Bergala is also famous for running the schools film program, “Le cinéma a l'école”, that was initiated by the then French Minister of Education, Jack Lang, and for developing a series of DVDs for use in lessons.

Even if there is still a lot scepticism in Germany about the educational value of this mass medium of entertainment, film in all its forms is a worthwhile undertaking and a rewarding means of imparting knowledge and experience for which young people can work up a lot of enthusiasm – that is why schools should be providing them with the right skills to deal with it!