Film Studies Program
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What is Film Studies?
For the past century motion pictures have flourished as the most pervasive medium for entertainment and expression, blending art with new technology in ever-changing ways. Film Studies explores the kind of art form film is today, as well as the ways this medium has developed and shaped popular culture around the world over the past hundred years. From an examination of prevalent film genres and significant directors, to the place of different national cinema traditions in an increasingly globalized context, Film Studies provides critical tools as well as the historical and theoretical frameworks for making sense of visual culture in the twenty-first century.
Students in Film Studies develop ways of considering and writing about the aesthetic, institutional, and cultural dimensions of the cinema; they gain knowledge about policy and economic constraints in the film industry; and they acquire skills to discuss our cinematic heritage. A degree in Film Studies will allow graduates to write about film, and to work in various aspects of the industry from production to film festivals. Graduates with a Film Studies degree can also pursue graduate studies at various institutions.
Degrees Offered
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
- Bachelor of Film Studies (BFS)
- Co-operative Education Program
About the Degrees
The department offers two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Film Studies (BFS). Students taking a BA in Film Studies will develop a critical understanding of cinema and an awareness of the cultural, historical and social character of film. Students will consider film as an art form, as a cultural industry, and as an innovative and developing technology with cultural, social and political significance. Opportunities for further concentration are available to students via the BA (Honours) in Film Studies program and the Co-Operative Education Program.
The BFS is offered in partnership with SAIT. Students complete a two-year diploma at SAIT plus two years of study at U of C. The program is intended for students who want the flexibility and broad interdisciplinary base of knowledge provided by a university degree combined with the practical skills in film and video or new media production. Note: Students must apply separately to the SAIT portion of the program.
Why Choose the Film Studies Degrees?
U of C Film Studies majors develop theoretical and analytic skills that will be valuable to them as filmmakers, critics, and other kinds of participants in contemporary film culture. Calgary is a growing regional hub for the Canadian film industry and a significant centre of independent film production. It is also home to over a dozen film festivals and several media cooperatives. The Film Studies program draws on this setting to provide students with opportunities for experiential learning and cooperative education. Situated amidst Calgary’s burgeoning film industry and vibrant film festival scene, Film Studies majors and graduates have many opportunities to contribute and participate, and in doing so to help shape the motion picture art and culture of tomorrow.
What Can you Do With a Film Studies Degree?
Graduates of Film Studies work in a variety of different roles from critics and producers, to independent filmmakers, media archivists and arts administrators. The Canadian film industry is a vital and expanding cultural player. It will need graduates with university-level backgrounds who are able to think critically and write effectively about the aesthetic, cultural and technological dimensions of motion pictures.
Graduates of Film Studies work in the following areas:
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Student Experience
Students in the Film Studies Program participate in a range of exciting film-related extra-curricular activities both on-campus and off. These include special film screening series’ and lectures from visiting filmmakers, producers, and scholars, as well as opportunities to participate in local film festivals, like the Calgary International, Underground, and Show us Your Shorts Film Festivals, and media cooperatives like CSIF, EmMedia and the Quickdraw Animation Society. Students also take advantage of on-campus media production opportunities and work together on their own filmmaking and critical writing projects. These opportunities provide additional enrichment to the Film Studies curriculum and help contribute to the energy and enthusiasm that Film Studies at the U of C is becoming known for!
Research Areas
Film Studies faculty members have research expertise in a wide range of different areas, from amateur moviemakers and experimental film to ‘Indie’ filmmaking and the Hollywood industry; from Canadian cinema, documentary film and film noir, to film theory, film festivals and the contemporary global art cinema. These areas of expertise are reflected both in course offerings and opportunities students have to participate in faculty research. As part of a course about the history of amateur filmmaking, Dr. Charles Tepperman’s class organized Calgary’s first Home Movie Day, an international event that invites the public to bring in their own home movies for a public exhibition. Students examined and presented the films – which offered glimpses of Calgary birthdays, summer holidays and stampede parades from decades past – and were invited to grapple with the challenging questions about the nature and history of motion pictures that the films raised: Why do we love to star in our own films? What do amateur movies tell us about film culture and professional filmmaking? What is different or new about the recent explosion of user-generated movies produced by digital cameras and spread by the Internet? Even Alfred Hitchcock made home movies!
Scholarship Information
ucalgary.ca/awards
Arts and Sciences Honors Academy (ASHA) program
To Apply Click Here.
Have More Questions?
For comprehensive advising on your program of studies, contact:
Student Success Centre
3rd Floor, Taylor Family Digital Library
220-5881
http://www.ucalgary.ca/ssc
For more details on the Film Studies program, contact:
Charles Tepperman
Acting Program Co-ordinator
Phone: (403) 220-7303
Email: c.tepperman@ucalgary.ca
For more course information visit the University Calendar.
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