The Year 13 German class visited the British Film Institute’s annual A-Level German Film study day at their IMAX site in Waterloo.
All students there were immersed in German film study activities and developed their cultural capital along with their analytical and evaluative skills in German. The day was led by a German researcher, lecturer and filmmaker at Goldsmiths, The University of London.
The students looked at the director’s techniques, the use of sound and music, imagery, colours and costumes and how these elements of film come together to create a certain effect or meaning.
At school the A-Level German class are studying Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others – 2006), a film set in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), which highlights the surveillance and systematic regime that citizens were subjected to if they were suspected of not following rules or trying to escape to the West.
During the film study day we also watched the film Goodbye Lenin! (2003), which complemented and deepened our students’ understanding of what life was like pre- and post-unification in Germany.
Both of our A-Level German students said they thoroughly enjoyed the day and came away feeling more confident in expressing their thoughts on German cinema and the legacy of the GDR through film in German and using a wider range of film specific vocabulary and terminology.
Vielen Dank!
