- View video: Screen 360
Since the end of January, 120 sixth graders in San Mateo’s Bayside STEM Academy learned what an international film festival is during the Screen 360 US-2 Lab. They learned about the job of film curator. And they learned that kids fill a 900-seat theater four times a day for two weeks in Berlin, Germany and watch high quality films about kids, for kids in different languages from all over the world. While that very film festival was going, they researched the films being shown there. Quickly they demanded to know “Why can’t we see these films here?
Bring them to us, too!”
Using their sharpened senses, they chose the top films that they would like to show to their peers… Peers, they agreed, are not only other 11 year-olds nearby but 11 year-olds in Berlin, 11 year-olds in Bangalore, Beijing or Boise. How cool to see the same movies as your peers in another country! They could even talk to them about the movies. They wrote letters to the filmmakers and, as film curators do, asked to see the entire film and invited it to their own Screen 360 film festival.
So why is it wise to connect kids to the world though movies well before their wisdom teeth come in? International films can:
- Offer language immersion opportunities during the developmental period when second languages are learned best;
- Help kids foster their own global opinion;
- Lay common ground for when they do meet in person and lay cornerstone memories to help steer a direction.
- Broaden the palette of audio-visual media and storytelling experiences to promote cultural literacy.
Questions? Send a note: screen360@googlegroups.com
