Programs for Schools: Classroom to Screening Room
Grades 5–12
Classroom to Screening Room
Classroom to Screening Room presents film screenings and discussions that enrich students’ study of literature, social studies, science, world languages, and the visual and performing arts. This program also provides unique opportunities to address issues relating to citizenship, current events, and human rights. Teachers are welcome to choose a title from the education film library or the JBFC Theater’s current programming. Education faculty,as well as guest speakers and filmmakers, provide a social, historical, cultural, and aesthetic context for the film as well as facilitate postscreening discussion.
Lead Faculty
Sean Weiner, additional education faculty, and special guests
Educational Objectives
Understand the language of film, including cinematography, editing, lighting, framing, and point of view. Learn to read and analyze documentaries and narrative films. Experience world languages and cultures in the context of international film style, history, and artistic movements. Enjoy enhanced study of historical events and figures through viewing documentaries and historical narratives.
Participation
There are three ways to participate in a Classroom to Screening Room program. You can select a film that is: on the JBFC Theater schedule. These films include current releases, which are listed on our website, and special series, which are also announced in our bimonthly calendar. Classes are welcome to visit on the dates the film is scheduled to play at the JBFC Theater. included in the Classroom to Screening Room film library. This list of 20 titles was chosen by JBFC faculty members and education advisors to provide a range of films to meet the needs of your class. one of three highlighted films every month. These films are available for screenings in that calendar month only and are announced in The Lab Report.
The duration of the program varies according to the film’s running time, but generally is between two and three hours. To find out about special opportunities, subscribe to The Lab Report, a monthly e-bulletin for educators. Please send an email to labreport@burnsfilmcenter.org with “subscribe” in the subject line.
Film Library
4 Little Girls (1997)
Directed by Spike Lee
Documentary/Nonfiction
7th Grade & Up
The Class (2008)
Directed by Laurent Cantet
Narrative/French Language
9th Grade & Up
Fly Away Home (1996)
Directed by Carroll Ballard
Narrative
5th Grade & Up
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)
Directed by Marilyn Agrelo
Documentary/Nonfiction
5th Grade & Up
Offside (2006)
Directed by Jafar Panahi
Narrative/Persian Language
7th Grade & Up
Persepolis (2007)
Directed by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Narrative Animation/French Language/Iranian
9th Grade & Up
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Directed by Phillip Noyce
Narrative/Austrailian
5th Grade & Up
Spellbound (2002)
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz
Documentary/Nonfiction
5th Grade & Up
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Directed by Rob Epstein
Documentary/Nonfiction
9th Grade & Up
Wall E (2008)
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Narrative Animation
5th Grade & Up
Which Way Home (2009)
Directed by Rebecca Cammisa
Documentary/Nonfiction
7th Grade & Up
Whale Rider (2002)
Directed by Niki Caro
Narrative/New Zealand
5th Grade & Up
Why We Fight (2005)
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
Documentary/Nonfiction
7th Grade & Up
When We Were Kings (1996)
Directed by Leon Gast
Documentary/Nonfiction
9th Grade & Up
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
Directed by Lasse Hallström
Narrative
7th Grade & Up
Spirited Away (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Narrative Animation/Japanese
5th Grade & Up
Sugar (2008)
Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Narrative
10th Grade & Up
Workshops
Narrative Film with Alfred Hitchcock
Using Alfred Hitchcock's oeuvre, this introductory workshop to film studies engages students in the foundations of film theory and criticism. Students become active viewers, using their investigative skills to explore technical and narrative aspects of Hitchcock's films, and compare his work with other films they have seen to reveal and analyze cinematic representations and techniques often employed.
Intro to the Documentary
In recent years documentary filmmakers have departed from traditional styles of storytelling and begun to experiment with innovative ways to captivate audiences. This workshop tracks the documentary's growth from simple documentation to the creation of immersive multimedia experiences. Students will actively view clips spanning classic documentaries (The Thin Blue Line, 1988) to independently produced/distributed web videos (The Longest Way, 2009), then participate in a guided discussion about the various methods of production and representation used in the films. This program runs approximately 90 minutes.
Persuasive Media
This 90-minute presentation takes students through the history and evolution of persuasive advertising. Through a series of clips spanning from early commercials and wartime propaganda to present day ad campaigns, students investigate how gender and race are represented in these mainstream media forms, as well as the devices they effectively use to sell, advocate, and persuade. This program has been popular as it allows for students to critically think and engage with something they interact with on a daily basis.
We look forward to welcoming your class to the theater! Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
For inquiries about the films and which selection may best work for your class contact Sean Weiner at sweiner@burnsfilmcenter.org or at 914.773.7663, ext. 442.
For inquiries about payment, scheduling, and booking please contact Alana Benoit at abenoit@burnsfilmcenter.org or at 914.773.7663, ext. 423.
Registration Form (pdf)
Sign Up for the Lab Report. To find out about special opportunities, teachers and administrators may subscribe to the Lab Report, a monthly e-bulletin for educators. Please send an email to labreport@burnsfilmcenter.org with “subscribe” in the subject line.
