These educational film series are offered throughout the school year to the Bay Area educational community, providing timely, insightful and engaging media content designed to support the curriculum of a broad range of grade levels and subject areas. For the 2008–09 school year, the successful Women in Film and Literary Adaptation series will continue, and several new thematic series will be offered: The Art & Science of Lucasfilm, Government, Politics & the First Amendment and Environment. Each series will include a selection of carefully curated films and presentations scheduled at regular intervals from September through May at various theaters and venues in San Francisco and around the Bay Area. All programs will include opportunities for students to engatge in interactive discussions with filmmakers, industry professionals and scholars connected to the films screened. Advance notification of upcoming events will be emailed to all educators on our mailing list. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, contact Keith Zwölfer, education program manager at kzwolfer@sffs.org. Updated schedules will also be posted here on sffs.org.

All of our programs are designed to be interactive experiences rather than passive viewings, so students are expected to come prepared to ask questions of filmmakers and special guests and to participate in post-film discussions and Q&As.

The Art & Science of Lucasfilm
The Film Society is thrilled to be collaborating for the first time with legendary visual effects production company Lucasfilm. We are fortunate to have the incredible talents and expertise of this successful company right here in our backyard in the Presidio and are grateful for their willingness to share their knowledge—and their spectacular special effects secrets—with Bay Area students. This yearlong series will consist of five different 90-minute multimedia presentations by Lucasfilm personnel, demonstrating the intersection of art and science in the entertainment industry in general and at Lucasfilm in particular. The program is designed to complement a range of high school curricula, including arts, language, social studies, math and sciences, and at each event students will have the opportunity to ask questions of actual Lucas directors, producers and effects specialists. The series aims to inspire and reach out to future generations of filmmakers, storytellers and artists as well as demonstrate the range of career opportunities available in today’s digital entertainment industry and give an insider view of today’s popular TV, film and video game productions. Study guides will be available for each program to assist teachers in preparing students beforehand and providing follow-up questions, activities and resources to help integrate the program’s content into the classroom.

Government, Politics & the First Amendment
With a historic election on the horizon, issues around the role of government and the importance of free speech are more pressing than ever. Questions about the power of politicians, the privacy of the citizenry, voter disenfranchisement, civil liberties and the ability to enact change through protest are all potent subjects for recent documentary and fiction films. In this compelling series, we will be presenting a range of films throughout the school year covering various angles and stories related to these topics, with filmmakers and special guests in attendance to engage students in post-screening discussions. Teachers will also be provided with study guides to help prepare students in advance and provide follow-up questions, activities and resources to help integrate each film’s content into the classroom.

Environment
From global warming to sustainable agriculture, green issues are in the news and in the classroom like never before. Artists and journalists are also using the medium of film in record numbers to help inform and educate about the environmental issues that affect the planet and every one of us who live on it. This inspiring series of green, eco-engaged and edifying films from around the world will provide teachers with important media resources and tools for the study of environmental issues at all grade levels. Interactive discussions will take place at each screening with special filmmaker guests, and study guides will be provided to teachers to help prepare students in advance and provide follow-up questions, activities and resources to help integrate each film’s content into the classroom.

Women in Film
Hollywood has long been dominated by men, with few women reaching executive heights in major studios or getting the opportunity to produce or direct high-budget, blockbuster films. Yet, in other realms of filmmaking—from documentaries to shorts to foreign films to independent features—there is an ever-growing stream of highly talented and successful women filmmakers. Here in the Bay Area, female filmmaking talent is not only evident, it is rampant. In the 2007–08 school year, the SFFS Education Program began highlighting films both by and about women in the first Women in Film series, and the program was so successful—and the list of educationally significant films so extensive—that the series will continue in 2008–09. In addition to regularly scheduled screenings, accomplished women filmmakers will visit all-girl schools in the Bay Area to meet with students and serve as key role models for young girls interested in both business and creative careers.

Literary Adaptation
From the great classics like Little Women to engaging young adult novels like How to Eat Fried Worms, books have long been a rich resource of quality storytelling for adaptation to film. Viewing these films in an educational context is an excellent way to discuss the quality, theme, structure and characters of the original source material while comparing and contrasting to its cinematic counterpart. It is also a wonderful means of engaging students in reading and writing. Upstart studios such as Walden Media have been creating wonderful film adaptations of books for young people with great frequency in the last few years, as other major studios continue to rework the stories of literary masters. Join us throughout the school year for educational screenings of several new film releases.

French Cinema
In partnership with theConsulate General of France in San Francisco, we present this free education program each fall to expose high-school level French students in the Bay Area to the wonderful culture of France through film. In past years we have challenged students with such films as: Brodeuses by Éléonore Faucher, Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and L’Enfant by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Read about this year’s program.

Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Fund Student Essay Contest
Through the generous support of the Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Education Fund, SFFS has initiated a series of student essay contests, in order to cultivate students’ imaginations and enhance their critical thinking and creative writing skills. Endowed by Tim Kochis and SFFS board member Penelope Wong to honor the memory of her mother, Nellie Wong (1917–2007), who was an avid filmgoer and cinephile, the Fund aims to instill a greater appreciation for the magic of movies in young audiences of the Bay Area. The first annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest took place this year at the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival, inviting students to write about films they saw at the Festival, how they related to their own lives and experiences and how they were inspired to take action or change their beliefs after seeing the films. More essay contests will take place in the 2008–09 school year. Stay tuned for announcements.

Past Events
Read about the dozens of theater and in-school programs SFFS Education presented throughout the 2007–08 school year.