
Why Short Films
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Authenticity: film is one of the closest mediums to a real life.
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Brevity and manageability: a short film can be screened in its entirety easily within one lesson.
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Accessibility: film is an inclusive medium, accessible to students of diverse learning styles, experiences and needs.
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Unique qualities: Short films, like short stories, are not governed by the same conventions as their longer counterparts and can provoke stronger responses.
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Stimulating: films can generate a range of talking, conversational and dramatic activity, stimulating an active engagement with language.
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Cultural immersion: Film offers a holistic picture of a language culture, rather than just the abstracted spoken or written words alone.
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Authentic language use: Films can help children listen for gist and detail, and show them gesture and facial expressions that support speech.
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Writing in a target language can be supported by creative and interactive approaches to film.
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Relevance: films encourage learners to engage with challenging issues and contexts in ways that develop passion, commitment and enthusiasm for language learning.
BFI has produced a number of compilations of short films to support language and literacy learning:
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Cineminis; Short French Films for Language Learning and Literacy (that this DVD includes many films with resources on this site).
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Story Shorts 2 - Short films for the Primary classroom. Age 7+
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Real Shorts - Short documentary & non-fiction films for Year 7+
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Moving Shorts - Short films for English and Media Studies
Follow the links above for more information on the compilations, and to get copies.

BFI has been promoting the value of short films for supporting literacy and language learning for many years. Teachers and learners have found a range of reasons why short films contribute to powerful learning experiences: