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Kino Bize “After Hours” – comprehensive cinema education programme for young audiences and teachers

SIA „Kinoteatris Bize” together with a Donorstate partner from Norway – AS “Apagon” till June 30 2023 realized the project – “Youth film masterclasses and teachers’ education.” After the project implementation it is time for the project story:

“Thanks to the support of EEA and Norway Grants, Kino Bize After Hours has offered a comprehensive cinema education programme in the 2022/2023 school year in collaboration with Norwegian film studio Apagon. The programme included two online lecture series with 12 sessions for teachers on the language and history of cinema, methodological materials for 34 Latvian films for creative learning, and 24 filmmaking masterclasses for pupils across Latvia.

The project’s primary aim has been to continue educating youngsters in an informal way about the historical and theoretical aspects of cinema, which has been provided by Kino Bize for several years as part of Duanel Film School. EEA and Norway Grants have helped the organisation to expand its activities to an unprecedented extent, providing an audiovisual education programme not only for youngsters and adults, but also for school teachers throughout Latvia with free online lectures.

A key aspect has been the fact that the lectures are available without any fees, which has enabled teachers to be encouraged to gain audiovisual skills that can later be applied in the teaching process. Another important goal of the project was to give a glimpse into the world of the language of cinema not only in the most populated cities, but also in the regions of Latvia.

Online lectures made it possible for everyone to join the series, regardless of their location, and it was also possible to provide film workshops for youngsters in smaller Latvian schools outside the region of Riga. During the workshops, we observed that students (including teachers) in other Latvian regions were particularly enthusiastic and interested in participating in the workshops, which were delivered in cooperation with guest lecturers from Norway. The intercultural exchange was equally interesting and valuable for both parties.

As the project was not able to visit all the schools that had expressed an interest in participating in the workshops, two online workshops were created. Similarly to the workshops in person, they provide tools and tips for anyone who wants to make their first film at home. Participants of the online workshops are invited to send their short films to the team of After Hours project and receive feedback. The workshops are free of charge and open to anyone anywhere in Latvia.

During the project we didn’t expect teachers to have such a large interest in the film lectures. The number of participants was twice as high as originally expected. We were reassured that non-formal audiovisual education is lacking for this particular audience and that teachers are motivated to devote their free time to improve their qualification and later use the knowledge gained in the teaching process. Likewise, we received more applications for filmmaking workshops for youngsters than planned. According to the project, we delivered 24 workshops in cooperation with the project partner from Norway. After announcing the call for applications, we received twice as many submissions, which required a thorough selection process of participants, assessing applications, motivations and potential gains in the future. As
a result, 7 schools in Riga and 17 schools in other regions were selected, including 4 in Latgale, 4 in Zemgale, 2 in Kurzeme and 7 schools in Vidzeme.

In addition to the planned communication activities, the idea of organising After Hours short film festival was made real, bringing together the best works from all 24 film workshops in Latvian schools. Young people had the opportunity to learn presentation and public speaking skills by experiencing the premieres of their first films among other young people from different regions. For the project team the event allowed to appreciate the outcomes of their work.

The project has lasting value in the long term. The content produced – lectures for educators, two online filmmaking workshops for youngsters and 34 methodological materials for Latvian films – is available on Kino Bize website or on request. During the new school year from September 2023, we can see that teachers continue to use the content. This is also confirmed by the many thank you letters sent to Kino Bize team. The materials have helped teachers to talk about cinema with their pupils, and to stimulate their interest and understanding. The methodological materials for 34 Latvian films facilitate the learning process and provide a new, more analytical perspective when watching any audiovisual content. In the long term, the project has already increased interest in film and non-formal education among the relevant audience segments, which will be evidenced by the continued demand for such content.”