Students to learn lessons at the cinema in National Schools Film Week (From Swindon Advertiser)

Students to learn lessons at the cinema in National Schools Film Week

7:01pm Tuesday 4th September 2012 in News

FOR a week in November, school lessons for some Swindon students will take them from the battlefields of the First World War, to the crime-ridden streets of South Africa, and ending in the Highlands of Scotland.

Swindon’s cinemas – Cineworld at Shaw Ridge and Empire at Greenbridge – are again hosting National Schools Film Week from November 5-9, which will see them turn into classrooms as they screen nine movies for primary and secondary schools and colleges in and around the town.

NSFW, which is run by the charity Film Education, has been operating for 17 years and last year was attended by 470,000 students – aged from four to 19 – and their teachers. This year there will be 2,500 screenings at 570 cinemas across the country.

The screenings in Swindon, which are all free, include: l War Horse – Steven Spielberg’s spectacular adaptation of the much-loved Michael Morpurgo novel about a country horse “recruited” in the army during the First World War. It was partly filmed in Wiltshire.

• Tstosi – set in Johannesburg, this film tells the story of a young criminal who steals a car and discovers there is a baby in the back seat.
• We Bought A Zoo – this film, starring Matt Damon, is set in southern California and tells the story of a family that attempts to renovate a struggling zoo. We Bought A Zoo is based on a true story, but the original zoo was actually in Devon.
• Brave – the current release from the Pixar animation studio, which tells the story of a strong-willed Scottish princess who faces up to an ancient curse.

There will also be two presentations in Swindon during the week, both on November 6 when storyteller Kevan Manwearing will give an introductory talk ahead of the screening of the animated adventure Arrietty at Empire, and Adver film writer Steve Webb will do the same for Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, at Cineworld.

Steve said: “National Schools Film Week is a fantastic event, giving students of any age the chance to experience cinema, and learn from that experience, whether it’s a toddler-friendly cartoon or an adaptation of a Shakespeare play.

“At the presentations I have been involved with, the students have always been keen to talk about the films they have seen and I’m sure those conversations have continued back in the classroom.”

Nick Walker, National Schools Film Week’s director, said: “The festival seeks to create a greater awareness and understanding of cinemas based on the concept of relationships and dialogues in a variety of films, address issues of cultural exchange and raise awareness among teaching professionals of the use of film across the school curriculum.

“This is achieved by in-cinema talks and online resources, which give teachers the tools to encourage students to explore and undersant new cinematic worlds.”

For more information go to www.nationalschoolsfilmweek.org