Short Courses within the Junior Cycle Framework (2015) aim to broaden the learning experiences for students and address their interests. In collaboration with FÍS Film Project and Fresh Film Festival we have devised a Short Course in Film Watching, Making and Sharing, which we hope will be of interest to students and teachers, and provide wide-ranging learning experiences in film, media and the arts.

As an outcomes-based programme, the course has been developed around key skills and identifiable statements of learning. It offers opportunities for individual and collaborative work with specific in-class assessment combined with project activity. The course originates from a premise that young people are motivated and excited by film, an art form they negotiate with ease.

The first strand of the course is about watching film, so we have programmed two titles to support this. New Irish title The Legend of Longwood and gripping documentary He Named Me Malala offer two very different ways into learning film language. If you are interested in learning about the course or piloting it with your students we’d love to hear from you.