Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Cinema in curriculum

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to develop creativity and a healthy visual culture among students, cinema will be made an integral part of the school curriculum.

The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has evolved a broad framework on the different elements to be included on the syllabus and held discussions with the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which is going ahead with the syllabus revision process.

Cinema, like literature, warrants a serious study, and the academy has proposed to integrate it with the curriculum from middle-school to the higher-secondary level.

While teaching the aesthetics of cinema, the technical aspects of film-making, including cinematography, editing and sound recording, too have been proposed to be included in the vocational higher secondary education.

Academy vice-chairman V.K. Joseph told The Hindu that three camps had already been conducted for schoolteachers in association with the Sarva Siksha Abhyian. A thorough training was given to teachers on the basis of the modules prepared by the academy.

“The new system calls for a scientific approach to cinema. At present, screenplays of certain internationally acknowledged films are being taught in schools but this is done in a ritualistic manner and students do not get an exposure to the creative aspects of cinema.”

“Students should have a serious approach to cinema and they should learn it like literature itself. While appreciating the intrinsic artistic worth of cinema, they should be able to make use of its employment potential too. Hence, we have mooted a serious study of the technical aspects at the higher secondary level,” Mr. Joseph says.

The academy would take the lead in setting up film clubs in schools and acclimatise students at all levels with world classics by organising regular screenings, appreciation courses and workshops.

The ultimate aim is to disseminate the new visual culture created by the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) held annually in the capital. Support of film societies too will be enlisted for conducting the sessions.

Faculty training programmes too will be conducted and inputs from the sessions utilised for working out the finer aspects of the syllabus.

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