English teacher Pierce Bello will revive the Film Studies course next year, but this time without its IB designation.
Bello said student interest in the class dwindled due to the IB workload, so rather than coming back as an IB course, the class will be an elective.
“I just fundamentally believe there should be a film study class at every high school, and that kids do genuinely geek out and are interested in learning about movies,” Bello said. “So I wanted to resurrect a film class back from the dead.”
Bello said he hopes the elective will help students appreciate films from different time periods and different parts of the world.
“I like to have kids also watch movies that are outside of their comfort zone, and maybe movies that kids aren’t always gonna likely see on their own,” Bello said. “I’ve had some kids watch a foreign movie and say that’s the first movie [they’ve seen with] subtitles.”
Bello said he encourages students with various interests to consider it.
“I got a lot of IB theater kids who basically want to learn about film,” Bello said. “I’ve had some musicians take the class and they really geek out on sound.”
Film club co-president and senior Ian Lee said the class teaches skills that also apply to academic courses.
“There are so many literary and technical elements that are used when you bring movies to a classroom environment and break them down,” Lee said. “Students practice critical thinking skills that will help them in their other classes.”
Both Bello and Lee said they are excited for students to sharpen their textual analysis skills as well as see film in a new light.
“At the end of the day, watching movies is fun,” Lee said. “It’s great that students have the option to explore the world of film, while also growing as students.”