| Unit name | Francophone Women Directors: Documentary Filmmaking |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FREN30111 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Albertine Fox |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of French |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
In the digital age, documentary has become one of the most popular audiovisual genres, yet it has tended to remain a stubbornly male-dominated cultural space, with women’s documentary filmmaking still under-resourced, under-publicised, and sparsely engaged with. This unit is unique in the attention it gives to the expansive category of women’s documentary filmmaking. You will have the opportunity to discuss and analyse films from the Francophone world that actively engage with race and racism, with LGBTQ+ lives, with religion and gender, and with nature and sustainability. The unit is creative and collaborative in its pedagogical approach that centres critical self-reflection and prioritizes process over product. Together we will explore a diverse selection of filmmaking methods, aesthetic strategies, and ethical practices and at the same time you will develop an advanced understanding of the basic tenets of documentary film theory, while furthering key skills in critical analysis and creative thinking, teamwork, project planning, and communication.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This optional final-year unit requires no prior knowledge of film studies. It builds on thematic elements of the core first-year units taught in the French Department on French history, politics, culture, and identity, while furthering your close analysis and critical skills more generally. It develops methodologies discussed at Year 2 level on our MODL and subject-specific cinema units, and it expands these discussions to directly address methods of decolonisation in audiovisual contexts, queer representation, engagement with ecological issues, and broader questions concerning the ethics of documentary filmmaking. The unit complements other MODL and discipline-specific units in the final year of study and prepares you well for postgraduate study in film and the creative arts, as well as for employment opportunities in film journalism, film festivals, and the curatorial arts.
An overview of content
This unit will introduce you to different forms and styles of women’s non-fiction filmmaking, including questions pertaining to the politics, ethics, and aesthetics of documentary production in French-speaking contexts. Directors whose films may feature include Alice Diop, Amandine Gay, Chantal Akerman, Katy Léna Ndiaye, Sébastien Lifshitz, Agnès Varda, Corine Shawi, Khady Sylla, Jocelyne Saab, and Claire Simon.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Learning activities: one weekly 2-hour seminar
In the first hour, the tutor will set out a key concept/debate related to the relevant set film. You will be invited to participate in a class discussion, structured by discussion points and activities set in advance. The second hour will focus primarily on close analysis tasks, based around specific sequences from the set films.
The seminars focusing on set films will be preceded by a short recorded mini lecture, uploaded to Blackboard by the tutor, serving as an introduction to the film and relevant scholarship, but without using up class time that is better devoted to interactive tasks.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FREN30111).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
