Eduqas A Level Film Studies Spec From 2017 e 14 08 2023
Eduqas A Level Film Studies Spec From 2017 e 14 08 2023
Eduqas A Level Film Studies Spec From 2017 e 14 08 2023
SPECIFICATION
The production briefs assessed for the final time in 2022 have
3 been replaced with the production briefs for assessment from 33
2023 until 2026.
A range of film texts have been updated for first assessment 7, 8, 9, 23, 25,
4 from Summer 2025. 27, 30, 32, 34
and 48
Appendices
A: Short film study 48
B: Component: Marking grids 49
This component assesses knowledge and understanding of five feature-length films (or their
equivalent).
Section A: Global film (two-film study)
One question from a choice of two, requiring reference to two global films: one European and one
produced outside Europe.
Section B: Documentary film
One question from a choice of two, requiring reference to one documentary film.
Section C: Film movements – Silent cinema
One question from a choice of two, requiring reference to one silent film or group of films.
Section D: Film movements – Experimental film (1960-2001)
One question from a choice of two, requiring reference to one film option.
Component 3: Production
Non-exam assessment
30% of qualification
This component assesses one production and its evaluative analysis. Learners produce:
• either a short film (4-5 minutes) or a screenplay for a short film (1600-1800 words) plus a
digitally photographed storyboard of a key section from the screenplay
• an evaluative analysis (1600 - 1800 words).
This linear qualification will be available for assessment in May/June each year. It will be
awarded for the first time in summer 2019.
Ofqual Qualification Number (listed on The Register): 603/1147/2
Films set for study (for assessment up to and including Summer 2024)
Two Hollywood films will be studied for comparison, one chosen from group 1 and one chosen from
group 2:
Two films will be studied, one chosen from group 1 and one chosen from group 2:
Five feature-length films (or their equivalent) will be studied for this component.
Two films will be studied, one chosen from group 1 and one from group 2:
Two Hollywood films will be studied for comparison, one chosen from group 1 and one chosen from
group 2:
Two films will be studied, one chosen from group 1 and one chosen from group 2:
*It is the centre's responsibility whether to select films classified 18 for study.
Five feature-length films (or their equivalent) will be studied for this component.
Section A: Global film (two-film study)
Two films will be studied, one chosen from group 1 and one from group 2:
Group 1: European film
• Life is Beautiful (Benigni, Italy, 1997), PG
• Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006), 15
• Mustang (Ergűven, France/Turkey, 2015), 15
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Sciamma, France, 2019), 15
• Another Round (Vinterberg, Denmark, 2020), 12
• The Worst Person in the World (Trier, Norway, 2021), 15.
Group 2: Outside Europe
• City of God (Mereilles, Brazil, 2002), 18
• House of Flying Daggers (Zhang, China, 2004), 15
• Taxi Tehran (Panahi, Iran, 2015), 12
• A Fantastic Woman (Lelio, Chile, 2017), 15
• Roma (Cuarón, Mexico, 2018), 15
• Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho, South Korea, 2019), 15.
Section B: Documentary film
One of the following films will be studied:
• Sisters in Law (Ayisi and Longinotto, Cameroon/UK, 2005), 12A
• Stories We Tell (Polley, Canada, 2012), 12A
• Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, UK, 2010), 15
• Amy (Kapadia, UK, 2015), 15
• For Sama (Al-Kateab, UK, 2019), 18*
Section C: Film movements - Silent cinema
One of the following film options will be studied:
• One Week (1920), U and The Scarecrow (1920), U and The 'High Sign' (1921), U and Cops
(1922), U, (Keaton, US)
• Strike (Eisenstein, USSR, 1924), 15
• Sunrise (Murnau, US, 1927), U
• Spies (Lang, Germany, 1928), PG
• Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, USSR, 1928), U and A Propos de Nice (Vigo, France,
1930), U.
Production work is a crucial part of this specification and is integral to learners' study
of film. Studying a diverse range of films from several different contexts is designed
to give learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding of how
films are constructed to their own filmmaking and screenwriting. This is intended to
enable learners to create high quality film and screenplay work as well as provide an
informed filmmaker's perspective on their own study of film.
The WJEC Eduqas A level in Film Studies aims to enable learners to demonstrate
knowledge and understanding of:
• a diverse range of film, including documentary, film from the silent era,
experimental film and short film
• the significance of film and film practice in national, global and historical contexts
• film and its key contexts (including social, cultural, political, historical and
technological contexts)
• how films generate meanings and responses
• film as an aesthetic medium
• the different ways in which spectators respond to film.
The specification is additionally designed to reflect the diversity of film culture through
both filmmakers and the films they make. The wide choice of films offered includes
films by women and people of the global majority, and films which represent
particular ethnic and cultural experiences. Over sixty films are offered from which
eleven feature-length films will be chosen. In addition, a compilation of short films will
be studied.
The specification is not age specific and, as such, provides opportunities for learners
to extend their life-long learning.
The protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are age, disability, gender
reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual
orientation. The specification has been discussed with groups who represent the
interests of a diverse range of learners, and the specification will be kept under
review.
Reasonable adjustments are made for certain learners in order to enable them to
access the assessments (e.g. candidates are allowed access to a Sign Language
Interpreter, using British Sign Language). Information on reasonable adjustments is
found in the current Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) document: Access
Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments: General and Vocational Qualifications.
2 SUBJECT CONTENT
Introduction: Studying film
At the root of all film studies is a recognition that films are made: they are constructed
using a range of elements – cinematography, mise-en-scène, sound, editing and
performance (the key elements of film form) – which are organised structurally in
terms of narrative and often genre (the structural elements of film form). How
filmmakers use these elements, frequently in complex and highly artistic ways, is a
large part of what constitutes the formal study of film. Equally important is how
spectators respond to the work filmmakers create and how learners interpret the films
with reference to spectator response, relevant contexts, critical approaches and
debates. In turn, these formal studies have a direct impact on learners' own work as
filmmakers and screenwriters.
For this specification, the elements underpinning the study of film are organised into:
• Core study areas, which learners apply to all the films they explore
• Specialist study areas, which learners apply to specific films
A checklist and brief clarification of the core study areas is set out below.
Mise-en-scène
Principal elements
• setting, props, costume and make-up
• staging, movement and off-screen space
• how cinematography impacts on mise-en-scène, in particular through variation in depth
of field, focus and framing (a significant area of overlap with cinematography).
Editing
Principal elements
• the shot to shot relationships of continuity editing including match editing, the 180° rule
• the role of editing in creating meaning, including the Kuleshov effect
• montage editing and stylised forms of editing including jump cuts.
Sound
Principal elements
• vocal sounds (dialogue and narration), environmental sounds (ambient, sound effects,
Foley), music, silence
• diegetic or non-diegetic sound
• parallel and contrapuntal sound and the distinction between them
• multitrack sound mixing and layering, asynchronous sound, sound design.
Performance
Principal elements
• the use of non-verbal communication including physical expression and vocal delivery
• the significance of the interaction between actors
• performance styles in cinema including method and improvisatory styles
• the significance of casting.
In making sense of film, learners explore how film functions as both a medium of
representation and as an aesthetic medium.
Films are shaped by the contexts in which they are produced. They can therefore be understood
in more depth by placing them within two important contextual frames. The first involves
considering the broader contexts of a film at the time when it was produced – its social, cultural
and political contexts, either current or historical. The second involves a consideration of a film’s
institutional context, including the important contextual factors affecting production such as
finance and available technology.
In addition to the core study areas, the following six specialist areas of study will be
considered in relation to the films indicated.
Area 4. Spectatorship
Area 5. Narrative
Area 6. Ideology
Area 7. Auteur
Area 8. Critical debates
Area 9. Filmmakers' theories.
Full clarification of content to be covered within each of these areas can be found in our
Guidance for Teachers.
The following provides an overview of specialist study areas which will be considered in
relation to specific film topics:
*The Hollywood 1930-1990 comparative study foregrounds contexts from the core study areas in
addition to its specialist study of the idea of the auteur. (See pages 15,16, 19 and 20, Component 1,
for further detail.)
**The Global two-film study is a study of the core areas only and has no specialist study area
attached.
Area 4. Spectatorship
A central part of Film Studies is exploring how films address individual spectators through,
for example, particular shots, editing, music and performance as well as narrative and genre
to engage their interest and emotions. Films are generally constructed to provide the
spectator with a particular viewing position, most often aligning the spectator with a specific
character or point of view. This in turn raises questions about how ‘determined’ spectators'
responses to a film are and how far spectators can and do resist the position they are given.
Learners will thus consider how far spectators are ‘passive’ or ‘active’ in their responses to
film and how social and cultural factors, as well as the specific viewing conditions in which a
film is seen, influence spectators' responses.
This area of study will be assessed through American film since 2005/2012
(Component 1, Section B).
Area 5. Narrative
Narrative structure requires consideration of the whole film, most obviously in the way a
story is told through plot. A practical approach to narrative is to be found in the practice of
screenwriting with the idea of the narrative ‘arc' and the commonly used three-act structure.
In addition, mise-en-scène, cinematography and sound can all have a narrative function.
This area of study will be assessed through British film since 1995, a two-film study
(Component 1, Section C) and film movements - experimental film 1960-2001
(Component 2, Section D).
Area 6. Ideology
The concept of film as ideological involves exploring what ideologies are conveyed by a film
as well as those which inform it which may, for example, reveal that a film reinforces or
challenges dominant beliefs and attitudes within a society.
This area of study will be assessed through British film since 1995, two-film study
(Component 1, Section C) and American film since 2005/2012(Component 1, Section
B).
Area 7. Auteur
The idea of the auteur as a critical approach derives from an earlier period of Film Studies
when critics aimed to demonstrate that films are ‘authored’ by individuals, most obviously the
film’s director, rather than being generic products. Today, the concept of the auteur can be
applied to a film or group of films in order to identify and explain its distinctive characteristics,
arguing that these derive from a principal creative individual (most commonly the director,
but it may also include cinematographers, performers or institutions).
The following will provide the focus for studying the idea of the auteur as a critical approach
in relation to (a) Hollywood 1930 – 1990 and (b) Film movements - Experimental Film 1960 –
2001:
This idea of the auteur places filmmakers within the context of the Hollywood film institution
in which they worked.
(b) The idea of the auteur – Film movements - Experimental film 1960 – 2001
This approach sees filmmakers as creative decision makers, responsible for the selection
and construction process in films which experiment with narrative and film form.
Learners are required to study the following two debates in relation to the following:
Debate 1: The realist and the expressive (studied in relation to Film Movements: Silent
Cinema, Component 2, Section C)
In the 1940s, the French film critic André Bazin set in motion a major debate when he
argued that both German Expressionist and Soviet Montage filmmaking went against what
he saw as the ‘realist’ calling of cinema. This opposition between the realist and the
expressive has informed thinking about film from the beginnings of cinema when the
documentary realism of the Lumière Brothers was set in opposition to the fantasy films of
Méliès.
The degree of the impact the digital has had on film since the 1990s is a developing debate.
Some film commentators argue that, although digital technology could potentially transform
cinema, so far films, especially narrative films designed for cinema release, have changed
very little from pre-digital times. Others consider that the impact of digital filmmaking is only
beginning to emerge, both in high concept Hollywood filmmaking and in much lower budget
experimental work.
The documentary film will be explored in relation to key filmmakers from the genre. The
documentary film studied may either directly embody aspects of these theories or work in a
way that strongly challenges these theories. In either case, the theories will provide a means
of exploring different approaches to documentary film and filmmaking.
Two of the following filmmakers' theories must be chosen for study:
Peter Watkins
Watkins established his reputation with two docu-dramas from the 1960s, Culloden and The
War Game. Both document events using actors and reconstruction. In asking questions of
conventional documentary, Watkins reflects his deep concern with mainstream media, which
he has called the ‘monoform’.
Nick Broomfield
Broomfield, like Michael Moore, has developed a participatory, performative mode of
documentary filmmaking. Broomfield is an investigative documentarist with a distinctive
interview technique which he uses to expose people's real views. Like Watkins, he keeps the
filmmaking presence to a minimum, normally with a crew of no more than three. He
describes his films as 'like a rollercoaster ride. They’re like a diary into the future.'
Kim Longinotto
Longinotto has said 'I don’t think of films as documents or records of things. I try to make
them as like the experience of watching a fiction film as possible, though, of course, nothing
is ever set up.' Her work is about finding characters that the audience will identify with – 'you
can make this jump into someone else’s experience'. Unlike Moore and Broomfield,
Longinotto is invisible, with very little use of voice-over, formal interviews, captions or
incidental music. As the 'eyes' of her audience, she doesn’t like to zoom or pan. She says
she doesn’t want her films to have conclusions but to raise questions.
Michael Moore
Moore, like Broomfield, is a very visible presence in his documentaries, which can thus be
described as participatory and performative. His work is highly committed – overtly polemical
in taking up a clear point of view, what might be called agit-prop documentary. He justifies
his practice in terms of providing ‘balance’ for mainstream media that, in his view, provides
false information. Part of Moore’s approach is to use humour, sometimes to lampoon the
subject of his work and sometimes to recognise that documentaries need to entertain and
hold an audience.
A list of key sources for each of the filmmakers’ theories will be published on WJEC's
Eduqas website and guidance will be provided to support learners' study of these theories.
2.1 Component 1
Varieties of film and filmmaking
Component at a glance
Section A: Section B: Section C:
Hollywood 1930-1990 American film since British film since 1995
2005/2012
Comparative study Two-film study Two-film study
Learners are required to Learners are required to Learners are required to
study two films, one from study two films, one from study two films from the
each of the following each of the following following category:
categories: categories:
Questions will focus on: Questions will focus on: Questions will focus on:
Introduction
Learners must compare two Hollywood films: one must be chosen from group 1 and one from
group 2. These are studied in relation to:
• the core study areas, foregrounding contexts
• auteur.
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) ✓ ✓
The Lady from Shanghai (Welles, 1947) ✓
All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) ✓
Johnny Guitar (Ray, 1954) ✓
Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) ✓ ✓
Imitation of Life (Sirk, 1959) ✓
Some Like It Hot (Wilder, 1959) ✓ ✓
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) ✓ ✓
Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968) ✓
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Forman, 1975) ✓ ✓
Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979) ✓
Alien (Scott, 1979) ✓
Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) ✓
Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989) ✓ ✓
The comparative study requires the exploration of one film from the Classical Hollywood period
and one from what is generally referred to as New Hollywood. There will be clear points of
comparison suggested by the institutional and production contexts of the films: films in the 1940s
and 1950s were produced during the Hollywood studio era and its immediate aftermath and
effectively established the 'Classical Hollywood style'. The films produced between the later
1960s and later 1980s can all be seen in terms of 'New Hollywood', where a new generation of
directors began to show new influences, especially from European cinema. All films are
characterised by directors who may be considered auteurs – sometimes working with other key
filmmaking figures. This enables learners to apply a critical approach to the films based on the
idea of the auteur.
Building on this contrast in institutional context, the study considers more generally how contexts
are reflected in film, including the contrasting social contexts of the two groups of films, how
knowledge of contexts increases understanding and how films generate meanings and
responses. Learners will thus explore the relationship between contexts and films through
considering key elements of film (cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing, sound and
performance), the structural elements of film (narrative construction and, where relevant, genre),
aesthetic and representation issues.
All About Eve is notable for the striking influence of its star, the iconic Bette Davis, opening up
debates about auteurism within the context of Classical Hollywood. Casablanca began life as an
unremarkable studio genre film but has become synonymous with the height of the Classical
style, it’s critical and popular appeal has grown significantly since its first release. In a similar
manner, Vertigo has undergone a change in reception. On release, many saw Vertigo as a
disappointing film from a major Hollywood studio and famous director but the film is now often
seen as the greatest ever example of auteur filmmaking. Perhaps the pinnacle of Sirk’s work
within Hollywood melodrama, Imitation of Life persists as an important film because of its lush
aesthetic style and prescient comments on race, class and gender. Some Like It Hot is a
quintessential Hollywood comedy in many ways but one that directly challenged Hollywood’s
representations of gender and sexuality, foreshadowing huge changes in culture and society in
America.
Whilst the emphasis of the comparative study will be on contexts, all core study areas will be
relevant to this study so that learners can compare in detail the way contexts are reflected in the
films studied. In addition, learners are required to explore the idea of the auteur to their chosen
films.
In this comparative study and throughout all parts of their course, learners will develop the
ability to use terminology associated with the subject (such as that set out in the core study
and specialist study areas in the introduction to Section 2). The use of this subject-specific
terminology will be assessed in an integral way through this comparative study.
Any combination of films from groups 1 and 2 can be selected for study although centres
may wish to explore some of the possible links suggested by different films.
Learners must study two American films: one from group 1 and one from group 2. These
are studied in relation to:
Films Up to From
2024 2025
No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007) ✓
Inception (Nolan, 2010) ✓
Selma (Duvernay, 2014) ✓
Carol (Haynes, 2015) ✓ ✓
La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) ✓ ✓
Joker (Phillips, 2019) ✓
Little Women (Gerwig, 2019) ✓
Nomadland (Zhao, 2020) ✓
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Winter's Bone (Granik, 2010) ✓
Frances Ha! (Baumbach, 2012) ✓
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) ✓ ✓
Boyhood (Linklater, 2015) ✓
Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2015) ✓ ✓
Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016) ✓
Get Out (Peele, 2017) ✓
Promising Young Woman (Fennell, 2020) ✓
This section seeks to represent the diverse spectator experiences and ideological interests
of American film since 2005/2012 for the two-film study. In this study, learners will develop
knowledge and understanding of the films studied in relation to Spectatorship and Ideology.
The ability to analyse core and contextual elements will enable learners to discuss how
meanings and responses to the films develop. Learners will apply their understanding of
spectatorship and ideological critical approaches to the two films studied.
Carol revisits the classic Hollywood melodrama of the 1950s while dramatising a story of the
love between two women. La La Land is a throwback to an earlier era of Hollywood
filmmaking as well as an original, highly stylised take on the musical romance – a love story
involving a musician and an aspiring actress. Joker presents a mentally unstable villainous
protagonist which creates a range of complex spectator responses. Little Women, as with
other films in this group, utilises a conventional genre and traditional narrative but offers
some surprising spectator experiences and ideological readings. Nomadland is a story of
loss and friendship and takes us on the road with Fern (Frances McDormand) who meets
and re-meets a series of real-life nomads appearing as fictionalised versions of themselves.
Learners must study any two of the following British films in relation to:
• the core study areas
• narrative
• ideology.
Assessed
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Secrets and Lies (Leigh, 1996) ✓
Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996) ✓ ✓
Sweet Sixteen (Loach, 2002) ✓
Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) ✓ ✓
This is England (Meadows, 2006) ✓ ✓
Moon (Jones, 2009) ✓
Fish Tank (Arnold, 2009) ✓ ✓
We Need to Talk about Kevin (Ramsay, 2011) ✓ ✓
Sightseers (Wheatley, 2012) ✓
Under the Skin (Glazer, 2013) ✓ ✓
Saint Maud (Glass, 2019) ✓
Mogul Mowgli (Tariq, 2020) ✓
Mangrove (McQueen, 2020) ✓
Belfast (Branagh, 2021) ✓
This two-film study asks learners to engage with the specialist study areas of narrative and
ideology in addition to core study. The films selected exemplify a range of narrative
structures and devices used in order to tell their stories and engage with different ideological
issues and positions. Some of the films utilise more conventional narrative structures and
devices whilst others are more unconventional and unfamiliar, there are benefits from
considering the different narrative options available to filmmakers and the different meanings
and responses narrative choices can initiate. It is important that learners can identify the
significant narrative features of the films they have studied but considering the implications
of these features and how they might impact upon meanings and responses is also
important.
In the application of an ideological critical approach to the films in this study, learners may
choose to approach the film from very different viewpoints: some of the films lend
themselves very well to a consideration of gender, others seem better suited to a political
analysis and some have interesting philosophical and moral concerns. Learners can
consider any of these films from any ideological ‘position’ as long as it allows them to sustain
a suitable analysis of the films studied. Learners will also develop the ability to evaluate an
ideological critical approach to their chosen films, this means that good practice would see
regular consideration of the benefits, and drawbacks, of ideological analysis being
contrasted with other critical approaches – such as an auteur or narrative approach.
We Need to Talk about Kevin explores a family and the 'secrets' it harbours within
contrasting narrative structures, whilst Trainspotting and This is England raise questions
about different kinds of social and national identities within two fundamentally linear
narratives. Fish Tank explores aspects of 'growing up' using a social realist narrative.
Shaun of the Dead combines horror and comedy to present a social satirical critique. Under
the Skin and Saint Maud explore complex ideas about identity, both psychological and
genre-based, through innovative narratives and fascinating representations. Mogul Mowgli
explores cultural identity and family in a nuanced way of storytelling that has been described
in part as an abstract magical realist narrative. Both Mangrove and Belfast explore two
specific moments in time. Mangrove is a film of deep contrasts mirrored in both style,
narrative and ideological views. The film explores the narrative of Black British activism
versus opposing forces in the 1970s in a film based in history but with prevalent and timely
contemporary concerns. Belfast follows the story of a nine-year-old boy’s journey to
adulthood in a nostalgic narrative about growing up in 1960’s Northern Ireland. The film
utilises a range of techniques to convey a child’s perspective of this time.
Assessment
Written examination: 2 hours 30 minutes
120 marks
35% of the qualification
Learners must answer one question from each of the three sections. There will be a choice
of two questions in each section.
Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990 (comparative study), 40 marks
Section B: American film since 2005/2012 (two-film study), 40 marks
Section C: British film since 1995 (two-film study), 40 marks
All questions will assess AO1, the demonstration of knowledge and learning, and AO2, the
application of knowledge and learning, in equal measures (see Section 3.1 for assessment
objectives). Assessment can also be based on evaluating the validity of a critical approach to
film, namely auteur for Section A and ideology for sections B and C.
The ability to compare films will be assessed in Section A, the comparative study, but not in
Section B, a two-film study. Knowledge and understanding of subject-specific terminology
will also be assessed in Section A, Hollywood 1930-1990.
For the Hollywood 1930 – 1990 comparative study, questions will be based on the core
study areas as set out in detail in the introduction to Section 2, focusing on relevant contexts
as well as the idea of the auteur.
For American film since 2005/2012 (two-film study), questions will be based on the
specialist study areas spectatorship and ideology as well as the core study areas as set out
in detail in the introduction to Section 2.
For British film since 1995 (two-film study), questions will be based on narrative and
ideology as well as other aspects of the core study areas as set out in detail in the
introduction to Section 2.
2.2 Component 2
Global filmmaking perspectives
Component at a glance
Section A: Section B: Section C: Section D:
Global Film Documentary Film Film Movements - Film Movements –
Silent Cinema Experimental Film
Two-film study Single film study Single film study Single film study
Learners are required Learners are required Learners are required Learners are required
to study two films, one to study one film from to study one film from to study one film from
from each of the the following category: the following category: the following category:
following categories:
• Documentary film • Silent Cinema • Experimental film
• European film (1960-2001)
• Outside Europe
Questions will focus Questions will focus Questions will focus Questions will focus
on: on: on: on:
• Core study areas • Core study areas • Core study areas • Core study areas
• Critical Debates • Critical Debates • Narrative
• Filmmakers' • Auteur
theories
Introduction
For this two-film study, learners must study one non-English language European film from
Group 1 and one non-English language film produced outside Europe from Group 2 in relation
to:
• the core study areas
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Life is Beautiful (Benigni, Italy, 1997) ✓ ✓
Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006) ✓ ✓
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Schnabel, France, ✓
2007)
Ida (Pawlikowski, Poland, 2013) ✓
Mustang (Ergűven, France/Turkey, 2015) ✓ ✓
Victoria (Schipper, Germany, 2015) ✓
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Sciamma, France, 2019) ✓
Another Round (Vinterberg, Denmark, 2020) ✓
The Worst Person in the World (Trier, Norway, ✓
2021)
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Dil Se (Ratnam, India, 1998) ✓
City of God (Meirelles, Brazil, 2002) ✓ ✓
House of Flying Daggers (Zhang, China, 2004) ✓ ✓
Timbuktu (Sissako, Mauritania, 2014) ✓
Wild Tales (Szifrón, Argentina, 2014) ✓
Taxi Tehran (Panahi, Iran, 2015) ✓ ✓
A Fantastic Woman (Lelio, Chile, 2017) ✓
Roma (Cuarón, Mexico, 2018) ✓
Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho, South Korea, 2019) ✓
This section further extends the range and diversity of narrative film, requiring the study of two
films, each representing a distinct geographical, social, cultural world and a particular expressive
use of film form.
Group 1 offers the opportunity to explore a film with a distinctive European context and theme.
Each film reflects its director and its country of origin. Life is Beautiful is a film about the
Holocaust, using comedy and fantasy in problematic ways in presenting a story of survival. Pan's
Labyrinth mixes elements of surrealism and fantasy in its narrative of civil war Spain. Mustang
explores the lives of five orphaned girls in a remote Turkish village who are growing up in a strict
environment with arranged marriages looming over them. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a poetic
manifesto about the female gaze, about a love affair between two young women in Eighteenth-
century France. Another Round is a life-affirming and poignant exploration of Danish drinking
culture, midlife crises and the meaning and value we give to our lives.
Group 2 offers the opportunity to study a film from another key cinematic territory. The films are
from South East Asia, The Middle East and South America, and each represents distinctive film
characteristics. City of God is set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and contrasts the lives of
different young people growing up in a very violent environment. House of Flying Daggers is both
a spectacular wuxia genre film and an intense love story. Taxi Tehran is similarly concerned with
repression, this time in Iran where filmmaker Jafar Panahi makes a film despite being banned – a
film entirely shot from cameras installed in the dashboard of the taxi he drives. A Fantastic
Woman explores themes of gender and identity, and provoked genuine social and legal change
to transgender rights in Chile. Roma follows Cleo, a Mixtec domestic worker, a live-in maid who
serves an upper middle class white family in Mexico City’s Roma neighbourhood in the early
1970s, exposing the intricacies of a class system based on gender and ethnicity. Parasite is a
biting satire on class hierarchy, through the story of the poor Kim family who ingratiate
themselves into the lives of the wealthy, yet gullible and complacent Park family
Any film from Group 1 may be chosen with any film from Group 2.
Learners must study one of the following documentary films in relation to:
• the core study areas
• critical debates
• filmmakers' theories.
Assessed
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Sisters in Law (Ayisi and Longinotto, Cameroon and ✓ ✓
UK, 2005)
The Arbor (Barnard, UK, 2010) ✓
Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, UK, 2010) ✓
Stories We Tell (Polley, Canada, 2012) ✓ ✓
20,000 Days on Earth (Forsyth and Pollard, UK, ✓
2014)
Amy (Kapadia, UK, 2015) ✓ ✓
For Sama (Al-Kateab, UK, 2019) ✓
The documentary film in its contemporary form has become a much freer form, utilising
cinematic techniques in ever more creative ways to tell ‘factual’ stories while problematising
the divide between fact and fiction. Each offers much insight into a more creative kind of
contemporary documentary practice - one which is as much concerned with the cinematic as
it is with its subject.
Sisters in Law is the most conventional of the choices. It takes the form of an observational
documentary committed to capturing the reality played out in front of the camera. It is set in
Cameroon and looks at the work of women working in the legal system as judges and
lawyers, focusing on resolving family cases – including wife abuse and child cruelty. In
Stories We Tell the filmmaker engages in an investigation into her family, specifically
seeking the identity of her genetic father. This film too is innovative in its commitment to a
self-reflexive approach to filmmaking. Amy takes a different approach to exploring the life of
a singer; the film is composed almost entirely of home video footage, brought together to
offer a compelling portrait of its subject. In For Sama, Syrian filmmaker Waad al-Kateab
combines performative and observational modes to document her experiences as a young
mother during the Battle of Aleppo. Exit Through the Gift Shop is street artist Bansky’s
provocative statement about the value of art and forces the spectator to question the nature
of documentary film.
All the set documentary films, which frequently make the division between fact and fiction
ambiguous and exploit digital technology, allow learners to explore the debates about the
impact of digital technology on film and filmmaking including understanding and applying
ideas and theories from key documentary filmmakers.
Learners must study one of the following silent film options in relation to:
• the core study areas
• critical debates.
• One Week (1920) and The Scarecrow (1920) and The 'High Sign' (1921) and Cops
(1922) (Keaton, US), American Silent Comedy
• Strike (Eisenstein, USSR, 1924), Soviet Montage
• Sunrise (Murnau, US, 1927), German Expressionism
• Spies (Lang, Germany, 1928), German Expressionism
• Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, USSR, 1928) and A Propos de Nice (Vigo, France,
1930), Constructivism and modernism.
The films selected for study in this section represent major stylistic movements in silent
cinema.
The silent period saw filmmakers working to develop film narrative and film form and to
communicate ever more effectively through purely visual means. Film during this period is
associated with the wider cultural and artistic movement of Modernism. Film history identifies
two key film movements: German Expressionism and Soviet Montage. The choice available
includes two films representing each of these movements. Sunrise is made by the most
celebrated of German Expressionist directors, F.W.Murnau, but in Hollywood not Berlin. The
film offers an interesting balance between American melodrama and German stylisation in
exploring a dramatic period in a couple’s marriage. Spies made in Germany also mixes
generic elements, here those of a prototype spy film. Strike is a classic Soviet film, made as
propaganda to sustain the revolution of 1917 by telling the story of workers being hurt and
killed by capitalist business and the state. Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera, by contrast, is
a ‘city symphony’ and a celebration of film technology seen as part of the wonder of
modernity. (This is accompanied by a short film made in the South of France filmed by
Vertov's brother.) A very different contribution to Modernism is represented by the work of
Buster Keaton, the most surreal of the great innovative American silent comedians of the
period. His work adapts vaudeville to confront the problem of living as the incongruous ‘little
man’ in an age of accelerated change.
Learners will be required to explore critical debates about realism and the expressive within
this section.
Learners must study one of the following film options in relation to:
• the core study areas
• narrative
• auteur.
Assessed
Films Up to From
2024 2025
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Varda, France, 1962), French New ✓
Wave
Vivre sa vie (Godard, France, 1962), French New ✓
Wave
Daisies (Chytilova, Czechoslovakia, 1965), and ✓ ✓
Saute ma ville (Akerman, Belgium, 1968),1960s
European avant-garde
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, US, 1994), Postmodern film ✓
in the 1990s
Memento (Nolan, US, 2000), Postmodern film in the ✓
1990s and early 2000s
Fallen Angels (Wong, Hong Kong, 1995), East Asian ✓ ✓
new wave
Mulholland Drive (Lynch, US, 2001), Surrealism ✓
Alternatives to mainstream narrative film have been present throughout cinema history. The
choice here is of films from 1960 to 2001. Over this period New Waves have often
challenged the mainstream filmmaking. The French New Wave is represented by Varda’s
Cleo from 5 to 7. It explores the inner life of a woman; here a pop star roams Paris for one
and a half hours while she waits to find out if she has cancer. Writer and Director Agnes
Vada uses this premise to explore gender relations in 1960s France and the themes of
mortality and existentialism. Two 1960s feminist films are linked: Chytilova’s Daisies from the
Czech New Wave offers a surrealist exploration of feminist issues in a politically repressive
society while Akerman’s short film Saute ma ville offers a view of isolation within the
domestic space. Varda, Chytilova and Akerman, together with other new wave and feminist
filmmakers, represent a Europe-wide avant-garde of the 1960s. Fallen Angels exemplifies
the energy of the East Asian New Wave over 30 years later; the relationship of a hitman and
his accomplice and of another couple are presented with great stylistic innovation.
In Mulholland Drive, Lynch combines surrealism with a neo-noir aesthetic to explore the dark
underbelly of Los Angeles. Memento plays with narrative conventions in boldly experimental
ways while remaining accessible. Nolan uses an experimental approach to explore
philosophical questions of human memory and identity. It reflects postmodern American film
of the 1990s and early 2000s, with its non-linear narrative, genre revisionism and focus on
fragmentation and instability.
Assessment
Written examination: 2 hours 30 minutes
100 marks
35% of the qualification
Learners must answer one question from each of the four sections. There will be a choice
of two questions in each section.
Section A: Global film (two-film study), 40 marks
Section B: Documentary film, 20 marks
Section C: Film movements – Silent cinema, 20 marks
Section D: Film movements – Experimental film (1960-2001), 20 marks.
All questions will assess AO1, the demonstration of knowledge and learning, and AO2, the
application of knowledge and learning, in equal measures (see Section 3.1 for assessment
objectives).
The ability to compare films will not be assessed in any part of this component.
For Global film (two-film study), questions will be based on the core study areas as set out
in detail in the introduction to Section 2.
For Documentary film, questions will be based on critical debates about digital technology
and filmmakers' theories as well as the core study areas as set out in detail in the
introduction to Section 2.
For Film movements – Silent cinema, questions will be based on critical debates about
realism and the expressive as well as the core study areas as set out in detail in the
introduction to Section 2.
For Film movements – Experimental film (1960-2001), questions will be based on the
specialist study areas of auteur and narrative as well as the core study areas, as set out in
detail in the introduction to Section 2.
2.3 Component 3
Production
Component at a glance
Production Options Evaluative Analysis
Option 1: Short Film (4 - 5 minutes) Written Evaluation (1600 – 1800
Option 2: Screenplay for a short film words)
(1600-1800 words)
40 marks 20 marks
Introduction
Production is a crucial and synoptic part of the specification, giving learners the
opportunity to put into practice the filmmaking ideas they develop throughout their
course of study. The study of film form in particular is intended to enable learners to
produce high quality short films and screenplays as well as provide them with a
filmmaker's perspective on the films they study. For this reason, a selection of
contrasting short films, demonstrating a range of different approaches to the short
film narrative, has been set for study.
The production may take the form of either a short film or a screenplay for a short
film. The screenplay must be accompanied by a digitally photographed storyboard
of a key sequence from the screenplay in order to demonstrate how the screenplay
will be realised. Learners must also provide an evaluative analysis of the
production, which analyses and evaluates the production in relation to other
professionally produced films or screenplays, including at least three short films
totalling a minimum of 80 minutes from the compilation set by WJEC (see Appendix
A of the specification). A production brief will initially be set for a period of three
years. During this period, the effectiveness of the approach will be reviewed and
monitored and subsequent production briefs may be set for a shorter period. Centres
will be informed of any changes to the assessment period of the brief.
The production brief will offer four options, of which one must be chosen. Options
will include:
• two options based on narrative elements and two options based on character-led
elements of the short film.
The brief for first assessment in Summer 2023 and last assessment in Summer 2026
is set out below. The brief for first assessment in Summer 2027 will be published by
WJEC on its Eduqas website in September 2026, at which point the date of its final
assessment will be confirmed.
Learners may also make use of material which is not the learner's own under the
following conditions:
• a soundtrack from existing sources (music or music from a film) may be used
provided it is appropriately acknowledged on the relevant form and used for
education purposes only
• if use outside education purposes is envisaged (e.g. uploading to YouTube or
similar), normal copyright restrictions must be followed
• up to ten seconds (maximum) of found visual material may be used if its use is
integral to the genre-based film extract (which could either be a shot or shots
which would be impossible to film or found footage such as a news extract)
• if found footage is used, it must be excluded from the specified length of the
production.
•
All use of material which is not the candidate's own must be acknowledged on the
relevant form accompanying the submission of work for assessment.
See Section 3.2 for further detail on the conditions for completing production work.
Production brief
EITHER
(i) a short film of between 4 and 5 minutes which includes one of the following:
• a narrative which has a distinct genre
• a narrative which has parallel stories
• a non-linear narrative
• a narrator
OR
(ii) a screenplay for a short film of between 1600 and 1800 words which includes
one of the following:
• a narrative which has a distinct genre
• a narrative which has parallel stories
• a non-linear narrative
• a narrator
Evaluative analysis
Learners must complete an evaluative analysis of their production of between 1600
and 1800 words and make reference to all short films selected for study from the
compilation set by WJEC (at least three short films totalling a minimum of 80
minutes). The evaluative analysis will include:
Learners must submit the evaluative analysis in the form of extended writing
(which may include sub-headings). It must be word-processed and may be
illustrated with screen shots or screenplay extracts. Screenplay extracts used to
illustrate the evaluative analysis are excluded from the word count of 1600 – 1800
words.
See Section 3.2 for the conditions relating to individual production and the
conditions for completing the production and evaluative analysis.
Learners will be studying a selection of short films for their A level. The selection is
designed to provide learners with the opportunity to develop knowledge and
understanding of the short film form. Learners may supplement this by researching
into additional short films and screenplays in preparation for their production
(research that can inform their evaluative analysis). Learners will also be exploring
examples of key elements of film form and screenplay techniques during their course
of study, which they can apply to their production.
Central to the preparation phase is the study of short films. Learners must study a
selection of short films (at least three short films totalling a minimum of 80 minutes)
from a compilation set by WJEC listed in Appendix A. This study is intended to
provide learners with the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of the
short film form, particularly its distinctive narrative. The study should ensure learners
engage with how the dramatic qualities of a short film are constructed, including
through dialogue. The study will also enable learners to evaluate their own short
films. As part of their evaluative analysis, learners will be required to analyse the
narrative features of the short films they have studied, highlighting how they have
informed their own production. Learners may research additional films and
screenplays, either short or feature-length, and this may also contribute to the
evaluative analysis.
Learners are encouraged to put into practice an appropriate range of camera shots
and editing techniques in their production, applying their knowledge and
understanding of cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing and sound.
Format features
• single column with wide margins
• sequential page numbering (top right)
• mf (more follows) (bottom right)
• dialogue centred, with speaker's name in upper case
• slugline and sound in upper case
• character name in upper case on first appearance only
• font – courier, 12 point
Content
• each scene is numbered and accompanied with a slugline
• the slugline consists of:
• an indication of where the action takes place – interior or exterior (INT, or
EXT or INT/EXT)
• location descriptor
• lighting descriptor – DAY or NIGHT or TIME
• scene/action descriptor (with succinct descriptor of character on her/his first
appearance)
• essential camera instructions (in upper case within scene descriptor) or essential
editing instructions (in upper case, range right), which will only be used in
exceptional circumstances (e.g. where SLO-MO is vital)
• action written in present tense.
It should be noted that screenplays do not include camera directions.
In order to demonstrate visualisation skills equivalent to filming ideas for a short film,
learners producing a screenplay are additionally required to create a digitally
photographed storyboard for a key section of the screenplay (approximately 2
minutes' screen time, corresponding to approximately two pages of a screenplay and
to approximately 20 storyboard shots).
Whilst storyboards can and do vary, the generally accepted conventions of a
storyboard must be used as indicated below. The digitally photographed storyboard
images may be indicative and need not employ a realistic mise-en-scène. The
storyboard must therefore include:
• shot number plus indicative image of main shot (e.g. close-up of face)
• the indicative image must incorporate the intended framing (e.g. close-up of face
ranged right)
• duration of shot (or a timeline)
• visual details must include detail of the mise-en-scène as well as account for any
camera movement within the shot
• specific editing techniques (beyond simple cuts) such as DISSOLVE TO and
• sound details, which must include reference to diegetic or non-diegetic sound but
not dialogue.
Whilst digitally photographed images need only be indicative, learners may
Photoshop backgrounds. This is not, however, assessed. In addition, up to five
found shots may be used where a digitally photographed image would not be
possible. The source of these shots must be credited.
A template for a storyboard is available on the Eduqas website.
• narrative structure of the short film – an analysis of how the narrative features
and dramatic qualities of all short films studied are constructed, including through
dialogue, highlighting key ideas which informed learners' own production
• cinematic influences – an analysis of how key visual/audio elements of other
professionally produced films or screenplays, including short films studied,
influenced their short film
• creating meaning and effect – an evaluative analysis of how their production
creates meanings and generates responses for the spectator in relation to other
professionally produced films or screenplays, including short films.
Note: all short films selected for study from the set compilation (at least three short
films totalling a minimum of 80 minutes) must be considered in the evaluative
analysis and must be listed on the coversheet submitted to WJEC. As set out in the
production brief, learners must submit the evaluative analysis in the form of extended
writing (which may include sub-headings). It must be word-processed and may be
illustrated with screen shots or screenplay extracts. Screenplay extracts used to
illustrate the evaluative analysis are excluded from the word count of 1600-1800
words.
Assessment
Non-exam assessment
Internally assessed, externally moderated by WJEC
60 marks
30% of qualification (production, 20%, evaluative analysis, 10%)
See Section 3.2 for details of the conditions for non-exam assessment and its
administration.
3 ASSESSMENT
3.1 Assessment objectives and weightings
Below are the assessment objectives for this specification. Learners must:
AO1
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of elements of film
AO2
Apply knowledge and understanding of elements of film to:
• analyse and compare films, including through the use of critical approaches
• evaluate the significance of critical approaches
• analyse and evaluate own work in relation to other professionally produced work
AO3
Apply knowledge and understanding of elements of film to the production of a film or
screenplay.
The table below shows the weighting of each assessment objective for each
component and for the qualification as a whole.
Production
In order to ensure the authenticity and comparability of all learners' production work,
teachers are required to establish the following conditions for production (set out
below).
Teachers must not provide specific or detailed guidance on how to make possible
improvements they advise on, or make any creative decisions for learners.
Note: performance is not assessed. Unassessed participants who act in, or appear
in, the production are not therefore required to confirm their role.
Teachers are not required to supervise directly the production of either a film and its
editing or a screenplay and its shooting script. However, they must be able to
monitor and recognise the continuity between all the authenticating stages of the
production. They should be able to recognise the continuity between:
• evidence of initial planning (stage 1)
• the first plan or draft (stage 2)
• evidence of an initial edit or draft of the production phase (stage 3)
• the completed outcome (stage 4).
Teachers are required to investigate any significant discrepancy between any of the
stages which might give rise to concern over the authenticity of the learner's work.
Teachers must not provide specific or detailed guidance on how to make possible
improvements they advise on or make any creative decisions for learners.
The short films selected for study from the set compilation and analysed in the
evaluative analysis must be listed on the relevant coversheet.
The production coversheet will be made available by WJEC on its Eduqas website.
Assessment procedures
Centres are responsible for standardising the work of all learners if more than one
teacher is responsible for assessment. This must be completed in order to establish
an agreed rank order for all learners.
Work will not be accepted for moderation without the relevant authenticated
production coversheet.
The sample of work identified for external moderation must be submitted to the
moderator by uploading as an e-portfolio using WJEC's secure online system.
If the moderation process establishes that a centre's assessment does not conform
to national standards set by WJEC, marks for a centre may be adjusted. In cases
where an adjustment is made, both the moderator allocated to the centre and a
member of the senior moderating team will have moderated the sample of work
submitted. Details of any adjustment, together with the rationale for adjusting centre
marks, will be clarified in a centre's moderation report.
All centres will receive a moderator's report providing feedback and advice on a
centre's submitted internally assessed work. This is made available online to centres
on the day examination results are published.
4 TECHNICAL INFORMATION
4.1 Making entries
This is a linear qualification in which all assessments must be taken at the end of the
course. Assessment opportunities will be available in May/June each year, until the
end of the life of this specification. Summer 2019 will be the first assessment
opportunity.
A qualification may be taken more than once. Candidates must resit all examination
components in the same series.
Marks for NEA may be carried forward for the life of the specification. If a candidate
resits an NEA component (rather than carrying forward the previous NEA mark), it is
the new mark that will count towards the overall grade, even if it is lower than a
previous attempt.
Where a candidate has certificated on two or more previous occasions, the most
recent NEA mark is carried forward, regardless of whether that mark is higher or
lower (unless that mark is absent)
The current edition of our Entry Procedures and Coding Information gives up-to-date
entry procedures.
A level qualifications are reported as a grade from A* to E. Results not attaining the
minimum standard for the award will be reported as U (unclassified).
APPENDIX A
Short film study
Learners are required to make a study of at least three short films in preparation for their
production. The total running time of the films selected must be at least 80 minutes.
APPENDIX B
COMPONENT 3: Marking grids
Production (filmmaking or screenwriting): short film
0 marks
No production work submitted or not worthy of credit.
0 marks
No production work submitted or not worthy of credit.
Evaluative Analysis of the Production: short film or screenplay for a short film plus illustrative storyboard
Marking grid
AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of elements of film to analyse and evaluate own work in relation to other professionally
produced work (10%)
Band Filmmaking – short film Screenwriting – short film plus illustrative storyboard
17-20 marks 17-20 marks
• Excellent application of knowledge and understanding of how • Excellent application of knowledge and understanding of how
narrative features and dramatic qualities of short film are narrative features and dramatic qualities of short film are
constructed, including through dialogue constructed, including through dialogue
• An excellent consideration of the cinematic influences on the • An excellent consideration of the cinematic influences on the
Band 5 production, including short films. production, including short films.
• An excellent and perceptive evaluative analysis of how • An excellent and perceptive evaluative analysis of how screenplay,
visual/audio and narrative elements are used to create meaning visual/audio and narrative elements are used to create meaning for
for spectators in relation to other professionally-produced films, spectators in relation to other professionally-produced screenplays,
including short films. including screenplays for short films.