Cinema Teacher Resources

Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu,...

Explore the rich history of African, Middle Eastern, and South American cinema with a video summary of the most prominent filmmakers from these regions in the 20th and 21st centuries. It discusses Egyptian filmmakers Asmaa El-Bakry and...

The formulaic films that once thrilled audiences in the early part of the 20th century now seemed stale after the stark reality of World War II. Foreign films and American independent cinema answered the call for authenticity, leading to...

Students study reviews of French movies. They research French movies on the Internet, identify key vocabulary used in movie reviews and design a promotion for a movie based on its reviews.

A study of how public perception is both reflected and influenced by film and television, this instructional activity helps students develop an awareness of audience as well as a critical view of media. Depictions of police in television...

George Méliès realized in the early days of cinema that, "Films have the ability to capture dreams." From classic movies like A Trip to the Moon, The Lost World, and Metropolis, to more modern marvels like Blade Runner, Jurassic Park,...

Students examine the contributions of a few African American actors. After watching different films, they work together to recreate the film and the struggles faced by the actors. In groups, they compare and contrast the acting style of...

The earliest movies were a whopping one minute long! While the practice has evolved quite a bit over time, the invention of the movie camera was significant in its time. A video describes how not only movie cameras but also radio and...

Some of the boldest films in history have been documentaries or experimental films. Explore non-narrative cinema and its avant-garde techniques with a short video about a creative faction in film history. Additionally, the video...

Students brainstorm ideas for creating video yearbook, practice taking digital pictures and using Graphic Converter, complete interviews of students and staff members, and create movie using Avid Cinema.

Young scholars explore the relationship between movies and culture, looking at movies as both a part of and a reflection of popular culture. They research the specific historical and cultural realities present during the run of a...

Students review the style techniques related to the American Method Acting and practice using them in groups. Using various scenes from films, they try to recreate the scene using props. In groups, they discover the proper way to get...

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students are directed to a website, then instructed to answer a set of 20 questions related to cinemas/films.

Students Discuss the contributions of Albert Maysles to documentary filmmaking and learn how to correctly operate video recording and editing equipment to create a short film.

The focus of a playlist on the history of film shifts from the development of early film technology to techniques used by filmmakers like Georges Melies. Melies, a former magician, used dazzling illusions and tricky editing to create...

The 2014 film Selma is the focus of a film criticism video.  The narrator examines how director Ava DuVernay brought to the screen the story of the voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama and how she uses the tools of...

The seventh episode in the a film history playlist takes a close look at the rise and fall of German cinema of the post-World War I period. The narrator uses The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and its expressionistic use of mise-en-scene to...

There's more to Egypt than just pyramids—it is the crossroads between North Africa and the Middle East. Egypt is the world's largest Arab country, and it is the center of Arab cinema and publishing. A video resource explores these...

Will the advancement of technology doom interpersonal relationships? Like the score for Jaws, the music for the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's 2001- A Space Odyssey stirs the imagination of viewers. Cinema lovers and film newbies...

Music has been used with many different art forms, but none more obvious than film. Explore the history, cultural influences, and music found in Indian Film. Text in this presentation is bulleted, making it great for taking notes. Tip:...

Would you live in a tree for three years to protect a redwood forest? Viewers of Rainhouse Cinema's Among Giants documentary consider the actions of Earth First! environmental activists who moved into the treetops of a grove of giant...

Students name their favorite actors and actresses, and then use adjectives to describe them. They go through a list of actors and actresses and discuss the adjectives they used to decribe them. As an extension, they can write about a film.

In this ESL asking and answering questions instructional activity, students read 6 answers and write the questions that would go with each. Then students take the questions they wrote and survey other students and find their answers.

Eighth graders choose a sport to observe and capture pictures of Newton's Laws of motion in action within the sport. They import these pictures into Avid Cinema to create a multimedia project to go along with the written report and oral...