Moving Image Media and Future Literacies: the Role of Cineliteracy in Curriculum Development

The Education Projects section of the British Film Institute (bfi) is engaged in a range of activities which explore the ways in which moving image media might redefine the current curriculum. In the long term our aim is for this work to effect change at policy level by raising awareness of the educative potential of moving image media both as a means of contextualising other subject areas and as an area of study in its own right. This paper describes the rationale behind one pilot project based in a number of Education Action Zones (EAZs). The aim of the project – called ‘Story Shorts’ – is to use films as a resource to develop both print literacy and cineliteracy. After an overview of current research in the area of media and literacy, this paper moves on to describe the ‘Story Shorts’ pilot in some detail. It then focuses on some of the theoretical arguments which suggest this kind of scheme may be a way forward for new curriculum design.