Education Today Education Today Magazine
Bookings are now open for the Into Film Festival 2017 – the world’s biggest, free, youth film festival, which takes place from November 8th to 24th with 3,000 free screenings and events for 5-19 year-olds, many linked to subjects in the curriculum. Open to schools, colleges, youth leaders and home educators the Festival uses the magic of film – from exclusive preview screenings of new blockbusters to popular classics – to engage young minds in a broad range of topics.
Building on the success of last year, which saw over 470,000 people attend, this year’s Festival seeks to actively involve 500,000 young people and educators from all backgrounds and corners of the UK in watching, reviewing and making films, some for the first time. With support from all the major UK cinema chains and venues ranging from the British Library, the V&A, the BFI Southbank and Pinewood Studios to a secret bunker in Scotland, a farm in Wales, and an Ark in Northern Ireland, the Festival provides access to the big screen at its best, including IMAX screens and the 3D and 4D experience. Over 130 films are confirmed to be screened in 600 venues across the UK – the Festival’s biggest reach yet.
The annual celebration of film and education is made possible by support from the BFI, Cinema First, a wide collaboration with UK cinema industry partners and delivery partners National Schools Partnership.
In a survey of teachers who attended last year, 94% of teachers said the Festival activities were useful in helping to deliver the curriculum, 94% of teachers felt the Festival activities were valuable in terms of the broader education of young people and 82% of teachers said that the Festival has made them more likely to use cinema visits to support the delivery of the curriculum.