cinema en curs – filmen macht schule

Truly, ‘cinema en curs – filmen macht schule’ is nothing less than a pioneering achievement! In recent years, this international film education programme for schools has established itself as a central element in educational institutions – and not only because it awakens pupils' interest in film as an art form: it also stimulates their interest in their own lives and experiences in a school context. Furthermore, ‘cinema en curs – filmen macht schule’ promotes cultural participation and social integration. The educational potential of film and artistic design serves as a driver for educational innovation and social improvement, the development of pupils' democratic skills and their ability to reach consensus through cooperation, group work, interaction and communication. Last but not least, the programme serves to strengthen social and political engagement: the students' engagement with their own living environment as a place worth documenting promotes their local and regional identification. cinema en curs – filmen macht schule is an international film education programme for schools from different countries with different socio-cultural and linguistic environments. The project is also a pioneering programme because it establishes film(s) as a central element in educational institutions: The project spans an entire school year or can be implemented in modules with different focal points and a duration of three to four months. The workshop units are integrated into the regular curriculum and combined with its content in an interdisciplinary manner. They are conducted jointly by professional filmmakers and the schools' educational staff. From 2018 to 2021, the German Federal Cultural Foundation supported the systematic transfer and adaptation of the ‘cinema en curs’ methodology to the German school system, the creation of educational materials in German, and cooperation with the Filmmuseum Potsdam. Our collection, compiled in collaboration with ‘cinema en curs – filmen macht schule’, presents the impressive results of this exemplary project.