Unit information: Film Festivals in 2022/23

Unit name	Film Festivals
Unit code	FATV30023
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Denison
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	Department of Film and Television
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

This unit involves the study of film festivals, and will investigate how they can shape cinema. By studying the history and theory around how film festivals operate as an alternative to mainstream cinematic distribution, this unit asks students to reflect on their creation and on what kinds of films they bring to global attention. Students will also be invited to consider the practical side of film festivals, from programming choices to the new kinds of film culture that are created in turn. The unit asks students to consider the challenges and opportunities offered by film festivals to a wide range of contributors including filmmakers, distributors and cultural commentators.

Unit Aims:

1. To consider contemporary film festival practices in their cultural contexts
2. To analyse how film festivals operate and act as a circuit of distribution for films
3. To examine the impact of film festivals on local and global culture, from their host cities to national and transnational film production
4. To locate, examine and critically interpret appropriate primary and secondary material and deploy this for both individual and collaborative assignments.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the cultural role of film festivals in a range of contexts, from the local to the global;
2. critically investigate how film festivals are created and produced, including how they are proposed and marketed to audiences;
3. demonstrate an advanced understanding of how festivals operate as a circuit of distribution;
4. independently research and write an enquiry into the history and culture of a major global film festival;
5. work collaboratively to produce a group proposal for a new film festival.

How you will learn

2 hour seminar, 2-3 hour screening.

How you will be assessed

1 x 2500 word essay (50%) [ILOs 1-4]

1 x 2500 word collaborative proposal in the form of a festival brochure (50%) [ILOs 1-3, 5]

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FATV30023).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.