Getting a bigger picture: Teaching film in transcultural societies

Abstract

This article presents the main results of an empirical study on the use of feature films in primary and secondary schools, which was carried out as part of the European Union project Film: A Language Without Borders in 2018. The aim of the project, by Vision Kino (Germany), the British Film Institute and the Danish Film Institute, was to familiarize children and young adults with European film culture and to promote transcultural learning. The author contextualized the results of 28 individual interviews with teachers using the concepts of literary learning (Spinner, 2006) and transculturality (Welsch, 1999), arguing that films can act as a springboard to support more critical conversations in class and to build cultural repertoires. Mobilizing social and cultural practices surrounding a film screening can help to foster a collective sense of well-being and an arena for dissent. Teaching film can create a valuable sense of community in modern diverse classrooms.