Shortly after the last bell, students and teachers leave the school without realizing that a child is hiding under the desk. After everyone is gone, he comes out of hiding and opens the computer to play his favorite game. Later, two thieves try to remove electronic equipment from the computer room, but the little student, alone at school, neutralizes them with a few movements and ties them tightly to the desks so that they do not escape…
The film, with the characteristic title “School Alone” (Alone at School), which refers to the well-known cinematic success “Alone at Home”, is a sixth grade production of the 2nd Primary School of Pylaia for the year 2018-2019, in collaboration with the Film Department of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh).
This film and many more (over 50 in total) have been created in the context of educational activities supported for the last four years by the local thematic network “Cinema Education” of the Directorate of PE. Eastern Thessaloniki, with the aim of familiarizing children with the field of cinema.
Thrillers are very popular with children
“School Alone” is in the thriller category, a subject that is very popular with children, especially in the upper grades. This may be because, in this way, children are addressing their fears. On the other hand, there may be similar stimuli in the films that a family watches “, explains Athanasia Ntai, head of cultural affairs of the Directorate of PE, to APE-MPE. East Thessaloniki to the Coordinating Committee of the “Cinema Education” Network.
The Network is in its 5th year of operation and implements seminars for teachers so that they can then carry out corresponding educational activities in schools.
Athanasia Dai remembers other films that have remained in her mind, such as “A midsummer night’s dream”, a silent black and white film with excellent music and cards in English and Greek, which essentially “tell” a story of love. Magic filters, clothing choices with elements from the 60’s transfer the silent cinema to today, thanks to the students of the 54th Primary School of Thessaloniki.
The “Castle with the Seven Towers” of the children of the 5th Grade of the 54th Primary School, a kind of documentary, tells the story of the Seven Towers, through images and an animation created by the paintings of the students. Even the children of the 1st kindergarten of Redestos stood out with “Space Trip”, a short film, dominated by their paintings and their travels to planets and galaxies, to the sounds of music perfectly suited for science fiction movies.
Ms. Dai emphasizes that the theme of each film depends solely on the choices of the children, which essentially express what they think and care about. In this context, he refers to the film “The Masks of the Future” of the 2nd Primary School of Pylaia, which essentially concerns the pandemic, the children’s fears for the future and the message of activating everyone to protect the environment.
Excited kids making movies
The enthusiasm of the children who participate in the process of creating a film, in the context of educational activities, points out the member of the Coordinating Committee of the Network “Film education”, doctor and teacher of the Film Department of AUTh Dimitris Papadopoulos.
“Children love cinema very much. From the age of 5 to the age of 8, they respond very well to simple activities under the guidance of teachers, while in the older grades of primary school, where children develop more logical thinking, we can implement more specialized actions. In any case, film education is something that can sharpen the creativity and expressiveness of children and it would be very good to be included in the school curriculum “, he points out in APE-MPE.
More than 100 teachers have participated in the Network seminars
From the beginning of the operation of the local thematic network “Cinema education” of the Directorate P.E. Eastern Thessaloniki, more than 100 teachers have participated in the seminars it organizes, while in any case its aim is to transfer the international experience that exists in the field of cinema in the educational practice.
The Network maintains collaborations with the Film Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Pedagogical Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Film Museum of Thessaloniki and EKOME.
Next Saturday, the P.E. Of Eastern Thessaloniki and the steering committee of the Network, with the communication support of the Film Office of the Region of Central Macedonia, organize an online training seminar for teachers of all specialties of kindergartens and primary schools, next Saturday, on “Cinematic theory in practice”.
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