When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, ‘no, I went to films’.” And with this quote, a student addressed a gathering that experienced interesting shots captured by senior students from the ninth to the eleventh standard at Modern High School International (MHSI). The student quoted Quentin Tarantino.
In the same welcome address during the summer camp showcasing, the student further added that the classroom at MHSI seemed more like a cinema hall where they got to watch the first act of 12 Angry Men, and scenes from The Godfather, Sholay, Pather Panchali, and La La Land. MHSI is perhaps the only school in Eastern India that’s offering Film Studies, which is known as IBDP Film (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme).
Nandini Ghatak, the school’s principal, shares: “I believe film and theatre studies help students become more creative, confident and expressive. Through storytelling and performance, they build communication, teamwork, empathy, and a deeper understanding of different perspectives of the world around them.”
I wonder how my school days at the The Assembly Of God Church School would be if in one of the senior sections Gabbar Singh’s “Kitney aadmi the?” was heard at the same time when demand and supply from Duet and Verma was being taught in the adjacent classrooms along with Shakepeare’s Merchant of Venice, and profit, loss and discount in the neighbouring sections on the same corridor.
A CBSE or ISC student may still find it alien and difficult to believe, but IB has the provision for Film and Theatre studies to be recognised as a ‘paper’ or a regular subject in what’s known as ‘Group 6’, in the IB jargon.
What’s the impact of film studies and what exactly is taught in the subject. Why is it that despite provision for such a subject where there’s no written exam there aren’t many schools waking up to the urgency of including the subject in it’s curriculum. Let’s examine why the IB board has introduced Films and what it hopes to achieve.
The intention is to cultivate creative, critical and culturally aware learners through the exploration and creation of cinema. Students are encouraged to analyse film as art, communication and social reflection while developing collaboration, technical skills, global perspectives and confidence in audio visual storytelling. Exploring and appreciating culture is integrated in IB mission statement, “…Intercultural understanding and respect…”.
Ishani Priyodarshini Sikdar reflects on her journey from being a Theatre Studies student at Mahadevi Birla World Academy (MBWA) in 2014 to being an IBMYP Drama Teacher at Shri Ram Academy in Hyderabad. The CBSE Board is yet to introduce film studies, but, from 2014 to 2018 it included Theatre Studies. MBWA was the first school in these parts which made provision for the subject in the humanities curriculum and I was fortunate to be appointed as the facilitator by Anjana Saha, principal, and Nupur Ghosh, vice principal, of the school.
Students of Modern High School International watching Sholay to comprehend culture in cinema
There are times when students interested in subjects like Theatre and Films aren’t able to pursue them because of subject combinations and options. Ishani’s classmate, Priyanka Sarkar, a young and promising advocate at Calcutta High Court, shares that though she too was keen on Theatre studies, she had to make a choice between Theatre and Law. She decided on the latter.
Ishani describes Film and Theatre to be “transformative” subjects. She addresses the challenges with specific references: “Limited time table space, lack of perceived academic importance, and the constant need to justify its relevance.” She further elaborates, “Teaching a Group Six subject also means advocating its rightful place in education.”
Aryan Tandon was one of my first students when I embarked on my accidental and adventurous journey of being appointed as full-time educator. In 2000, when I was recovering from excruciating medical treatment which dented my never flattering bank balance, Gunmeet Bindra, the then principal at Welham Boys’ School suggested that I take up a full-time teaching job. I directed two consecutive annual productions at Welham Boys School in Dehradun.
I was fortunate that Sonya Mehta, the school director at Pathways World School, Gurgaon, was in a search for a film and theatre studies educator. I had no former experience with IB. I resonated instantly with the IBDP Film curriculum. In my first batch of students, Aryan scored a perfect seven in film portfolio, one of the four components of the syllabus. The subject was so impactful that Aryan decided on a career in filmmaking. He shares that even if one is not intending on a career in films, the lessons imbibed stay for life.
Tathagata Bhattacharjee, filmmaker, who earned critical appreciation for his last release, Akorik, with Rituparna Sengupta and Victor Banerjee, is the curator of short film festivals called Shorts which celebrated 18 years of short film screenings at Tata, Jamshedpur. He dedicates a segment for student filmmakers. He welcomes the idea of Film Studies in schools. He is of the opinion that “a creative mind with social awareness is a catalyst for holistic growth”.
Tulika Shankar, founder, Go To Scale, has been integrating theatre in Leadership coaching. The alumna of IIM Calcutta and ex-Citibank, American Express, Aon, and Genpact is a theatre director and has completed a certified course at the National School of Drama. She shares an interesting view. “Learning to critically unpack films, today’s lingua franca, is indispensable for young minds navigating an AI fed, noisy, media-dense world.”
A prolific ambassador of respecting Arts as not a ‘could have’ but a ‘should have’ is the British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur awardee Kanak Gupta. What was once a passion for the dean of Jaipuria Schools and founder president of the non profit-theatre group Theatrecian, is now an essential tool in his approach to holistic learning. Kanak enjoys yet another identity. He’s the father of an IBDP student, Sara Gupta. The young TedX speaker employs theatre workshop techniques to engage and instil a sense of purpose among autistic children.
Filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky observed: “People go to cinema for life.” When we introduce films in education, young minds are allowed to not only critically read stories on screen, but to also develop an independent perspective on characters and comprehension of the socio-economic cultural aspects of a certain period depicted.
Corporate lawyer and bestselling author, Ruhail Chowdhury, says: “Given cinema’s profound influence on every facet of life, it is essential that this critical discipline is also thoughtfully integrated into children’s academic curriculum.”
I’m fortunate that perhaps my last stint as a theatre and film studies facilitator is in the city of my birth, and Theatrecian’s. It’s under the aegis of Devi Kar, who was then the principal of MHS, that I conducted my first workshop and, now, after perhaps a century of such workshops across the globe, it’s once again under her leadership that I’m embarking in what seems to be my last phase of an educator.
As I share my thoughts here, I’m eagerly looking forward to the 75-year celebration of Modern High School For Girls. Devi Kar has approved my version of Vikram Seth’s Beastly Tales and an Ionesco classic which we are calling The Machinists.
Pictures courtesy the writer
The writer is founder, Theatrecian