Cinema and audiovisual media

 A Survey on National Cinematography
Questions and answers
Training

Training plays a decisive role in promoting national cinematography.

– Is an introduction to cinema included in the official school curricula?

– Are any students from your country studying cinema or audiovisual production abroad?

In these responses, there was no distinction between industrialized or developing countries, or between large- or small-producing countries: it appears that only very few school systems have introduced courses on cinema into their curricula, despite the fast-growing impact of audiovisual materials not only in educational processes, but also on the audiences.

Worldwide there are more than one hundred specialized tertiary film-training schools, not counting specialized university centres and journalism schools, with some eighty schools concentrated in North America and twenty five in Europe; Asia has thirteen, Africa (including North Africa), seven and Latin America, five. Few correspondents were able to answer the question concerning their fellow-countrymen attending specialized education at home or abroad.

It is a fact that creating and supporting film schools is beyond the financial possibilities, or even priorities, of some of the countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Various attempts at regional co-operation in Africa between governments failed during the 1980 recession. Therefore African film-makers, instead of building expensive schools offering complete curricula, rather prefer to hold regional workshops periodically, where specific subjects are taught, such as camera work, lighting or film- and sound- editing. Further apprenticeship to keep in touch with quickly evolving techniques should take place in the well-known Western schools.
Source: 'African Cinema, a New Start'. Report to the European Commission, DG VIII, October 1995.

Last update 02/10/01