This cutting edge BA (Hons) Film Studies degree course will develop your awareness of key film studies debates, production practices and industry conventions. You will be taught by noted film professors, cinema scholars and established practitioners, who will all provide you with their knowledge of international film debates and practice perspectives.

The course is part of Birmingham City University’s Film Futures suite, designed to develop graduates with the theory, practice and industry trends that will enable them to succeed in a rapidly changing film environment.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS COURSE?

This course explores a wide range of debates within film studies, with the opportunity for you to apply key concepts to your own creative cinema practices.

You will be taught by leading film professors and scholars in the field, who will explore cinema patterns in their generic, representational and global contexts. Not only will you gain an understanding of Hollywood cinema conventions (from the silent cinema era to modern blockbuster spectaculars), but you will be able to apply these filmic techniques to a variety of production scenarios. As well as looking at American cinema, you will also be introduced to other international trends that range from European film and TV patterns and global considerations of cult media to Bollywood film traditions and beyond.

A focus of the course will be on combining film theory debates with filmmaking practices and industry conventions. As well as receiving foundational film training, you will be able to create documentary films as part of a wider examination of debates within this field. In addition, modules on film festival programming and film entrepreneurship provide key skills relevant to the film industry.

How you will learn

You will be taught in a range of lectures, seminars, writing workshops and production sessions, while regular film screenings help you contextualise cinema traditions against your own creations.

Your formal studies will be enriched by the possibility to work on a range of external events, such as the Cine-Excess International Film Festival. This annual event attracts visiting international filmmakers, as well as hosting UK theatrical premieres on a regular basis. Having previously operated in London’s West End and Brighton, the festival has relocated to BCU to operate as a central resource for the course.

The BA (Hons) Film Studies course is located within the Birmingham School of Media, which has an excellent track record for graduate employment. 

Within the School, the majority of graduates going into media-related roles. The course builds upon the School’s employability driven reputation, by opening avenues for students interested in potential careers in film research, film journalism, film archiving, marketing & PR, advertising and teaching film/media studies. 

As well as gaining course-specific skills, you could also gain broader tools through our Graduate+ programme, which will help enhance your employment options by helping with careers development, employability activities, volunteering and part-time work experience.

Allied with this course-specific experience, you will also have access to a range of support staff and services from the University’s Careers Service, who can help with:

• Reviewing CVs, covering letters and application forms
• Career planning and decision making
• Preparing for interviews and assessment centres
• Developing portfolios
• Networking with employers
• Advice about self-employment and entrepreneurship

PLACEMENTS

During your second year, you will have the opportunity to work as part of a mixed discipline team to respond to a brief, as part of an in-house placement element of the course.

In addition to this, there are regional opportunities for visiting and volunteering at film festivals, such as Cine-Excess, and Flatpack, and for networking with producers and distributors who function as guest speakers at such events.