The Into Film Festival returns for 2017

We're delighted to announce details of this year's Into Film Festival - the largest youth-focused film festival in the UK. With thousands of free screenings and workshops, Q&A sessions with established film industry insiders, and a host of educational resources, many linked to the curriculum, the Into Film Festival seeks to creatively involve 500,000 5-19 year-olds and their educators from all backgrounds and corners of the UK in watching and making films - some for the very first time.

This year's Into Film Festival will take place from 8 - 24 November and all tickets are completely free. Bookings will go live exclusively for Into Film club leaders on Wednesday 6 September, with club leaders able to log in and enjoy priority booking for Festival screenings and events one day ahead of everyone else. Bookings for all other educators will go live the day after, on Thursday 7 September.

Into Film Festival Strands 2017

While we won't be revealing the full programme just yet, read on below for a little taste of what's to come in our six exciting Festival strands - including a special Thriller strand, in association with the BFI.

Activate: Effecting Change 

2017 is proving to be a year of major change - particularly political - and it has been a subject of much debate. In some cases, this has led to active protest, with some expressing dissatisfaction and others campaigning more positively to effect change. The films in this strand will highlight stories from the personal and local, all the way up to wide-reaching global activism; from individuals driven to make a change for themselves and their communities, to those aiming to change the world.

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): PSHE, Citizenship, History, MFL, Geography, Politics, Black History Month, Parliament Week

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at secondary aged students.

Let's Play! 

Academic studies this year have suggested that children learn more effectively when creative play is involved. Making time for play and creativity is becoming increasingly difficult to fit into the school day, so whether it's music, art, theatre, games, friendship or sport-related, with these films we celebrate play and the opportunities it affords for creativity, exploration and being active.

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): PSHE, Citizenship, Geography, English, MFL, Design and Technology 

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at primary aged students.

No borders, no boundaries

Borders and boundaries exist to contain and control physical movement and human behaviour. With these films we explore the issues around immigration, broaden horizons with world culture, and push the limits of social and ethical expectation, particularly around gender, discrimination and inequality. 

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): History, Economics, Sociology, Politics, Citizenship, PSHE

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at both primary and secondary aged students.

Generation Z

Focusing on wellbeing, this strand aims to open up discussions around young people and mental health. If you were born post 1995, you're one of 'Generation Z', and you're likely to be more entrepreneurial, brand-aware, technology-addicted and globally-oriented than any previous generation. With so much to deal with and so little time to process it, these narratives highlight what it is to be in the thick of it.

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): Anti-bullying, PSHE

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at both secondary and primary aged students.

History in Action

With History in Action, we revisit key moments in history through this year's epic new releases, as well as through archive and heritage film. Titles in this strand include those that mark the partition of India 70 years ago, the Independence of Botswana in 1966, the role of Women in WWII, and a programme of archive film from the British Film Institute that captures Black Britain on Film.

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): PSHE, Citizenship, Geography, English, History, Politics

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at secondary aged students.

Thriller

Complementing the BFI's Thriller blockbuster season this autumn, we question whether the thriller is the genre of our time, with a strand curated by regional programming groups from the BFI's Young Film Audience Network. The young programmers, aged between 8-21, were asked to investigate seven key aspects of the Thriller genre, nominating their two favourite films from each category. We've rounded the strand up with thriller favourites chosen by Into Film's own Youth Advisory Council and with anniversary titles and recent releases identified by our Festival curation team.

Curriculum links will include (but not exclusively): Film Studies, PSHE, English Literature, Psychology

The resource accompanying this strand will have open ended discussion questions aimed at both primary and secondary aged students.

Autism and SEN-friendly screenings will be widely available throughout the Festival, and over half of the screenings on offer will be accessible to attendees with visual or hearing impairments through audio-description and subtitling.

In a survey of teachers who attended last year:

• 94% of teachers felt the Festival activities were valuable to the broader education of young people
• 82% of teachers said that the Festival has made them more likely to use film or cinema visits to support the curriculum

This annual event is made possible by support from the BFI, Cinema First, and a wide collaboration with UK cinema industry partners and our festival delivery partners, National Schools Partnership, and will build on the success of last year's Festival, which saw over 470,000 young people and educators attend.