Given this, it seemed important to put forward some questions regarding film education to those in the thick of it. I managed to put forward some questions to 14 students who are currently in their penultimate week at the BFI Film Academy branch in the East Midlands, run in association with The University of Lincoln. The questionnaire asked the students to consider the following areas; what they have gained from their experience, whether they believed that film should be included in the school curriculum, whether they would pursue a career in the film industry, and whether they would consider studying film and/or media at FE and/or HE levels.
It seems that broadly, those taking part in courses such as the BFI Film academy are very interested in pursuing careers in the film industry, with 78.5% of students ticking 'yes' to that question, with the other 3 students either unsure, or interested in broader media. One student seemed to enjoy studying film, but note she would prefer to study law due to the potential salary differences.
In terms of studying film at further or higher education levels, while 35% percent of the students would consider, or have already applied for a formal film education course, 21.4% would not, citing other career choices, or 'experience over education' as a reason. The rest were unsure, or wanted to consider other media paths, such as journalism.
Considering these statistics in light of the test group - 15-19 year olds who have voluntarily applied for a short course in film production outside of school hours - it hardly seems surprising that the majority are interested in pursuing film or wider media as a career. However, even in this small group, we come up against some large discrepancies between the number of students who want to pursue a career in the media industries (78.5%) versus those who would consider further or higher film education courses (35%). While students did not detail reasons why this might be, answers from other questions offer some insight.
One particular question from the questionnaire provoked an unexpected but particularly interesting response. When asked if film should be included in school education system for students from a young age (like English or Maths), almost 65% of students said no, with only a few saying yes, and a the remaining participants saying it should be included but from later years (GCSE, A Level etc).
What was most interesting about the responses, however, was that of the 9 students who felt that film shouldn't form part of the curriculum, 8 stated startlingly similar reasons why. 6 students felt that, although they loved film, they felt it deserved extra-currcicular status because not everyone enjoys or is interested in film, lots of people don't want a career in it, and a large number of students said that - given how passionate they were about film, they wanted to study it with those who were just as passionate as them.
The way these students - a group clearly very passionate about film - consider the medium is quite scary if you consider it closely. The feeling that it shouldn't be included in the curriculum because a lot of people might not enjoy it suggests that the medium doesn't even enter their minds as a valued art form. Many people do not enjoy the study of English literature, History, or Art, yet they still form part of the curriculum, and all students are required to study these subjects to some degree. Film study - even for those who are passionate about the art form - unfortunately consider it far removed from subjects that are taught in our curriculum today.
The students responses quite neatly surmise the issues with not including film and media as a form of literacy in our curriculum. Those who are passionate about film, both making it and studying it are very vulnerable, it seems, to being swayed in their opinions on the value of film, and the role it plays in our lives. Luckily for the majority, it doesn't seem to have discouraged a lot of them from wanting to pursue further study or a career in the area, but it does raise concern for those with potential to benefit from the art form who are perhaps not quite so certain or pro-active as those at the Lincoln BFI Film Academy.
More than anything, the responses make me more certain than ever that our society's view of film needs to be changed and that measures need to be put in place now to ensure that our schools and societies appreciate film and moving image for being an art form, rather than just an entertainment.
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