Film is an art form and should be taught in schools, says government report

Film studies should be taught in every school to elevate cinema to the status of literature, according to a government review.

Under new proposals, children would be schooled in the history of British film and be taught about the mechanics of film-making in order to encourage a new generation of scriptwriters, directors and behind-the-camera technicians.

“Unlike other art forms - literature, theatre or music, for example - film has yet to find its rightful place in education,” said the government-commissioned report into the future of the British film industry.

“Every child and young person in the UK must have the opportunity to see a wide range of films, and have the opportunities to learn about and to make their own films.” The schools programme should be a joint enterprise between the British Film Institute and the Department for Education, according to the review conducted by Lord Smith, the former Labour minister.

While British film is going through a “golden period”, Hollywood blockbusters continue to dominate the multiplexes, he said. With the exception of a small number of box office hits - The King’s Speech, The Inbetweeners and the Harry Potter franchise - British films “are being seen by too small a percentage of the UK public”.

Lord Smith’s recommendations include the launch of a British film ‘brand’ to promote homegrown output and a nationwide programme of film clubs and screenings in rural areas to ensure that those outside the big cities are able to see a wide range of films.

Lottery funding should be used to “reward” producers of box-office hits, encouraging them to make successful follow-up projects.

But Lord Smith distanced himself from David Cameron’s suggestion that funding should be concentrated only on commercially-successful films, saying he advocated support “for the widest possible range of movies, from overtly commercial to overtly arty and many in between”. The report praised low-budget but critically-acclaimed films including Shame, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights.

Lord Smith also called for broadcasters to “step up to the plate” and give more support to British films, both by investing in them and screening more of them.

Lord Smith said: “Channel 4 and, to a certain extent, the BBC have done pretty well by British film in recent years but they could do better. In particular, Sky and ITV could do better because they don’t put any support into British film at all.”

The Telegraph: 16 Jan 2012