Ian McEwan is one of the UK’s most acclaimed authors, with many screen adaptations of his work. But he’s also written numerous screenplays and adapted the novels of other writers. Join us as we take a visual tour of McEwan’s work on screen.

Ian McEwan is one of the most acclaimed – and, at times, controversial – contemporary UK novelists and an astonishing number of his works have made it to the screen. But he has also written original screenplays and adapted the novels of numerous other writers for the screen.

Over the course of four weeks, we’ll take a closer look at McEwan’s relationship with film across his long and distinguished career.

Course breakdown:

Week 1: Making a Name – The Cement Garden to Atonement

Week 2: The Bad Son – McEwan in Hollywood

Week 3: Adapting – screenplays and TV

Week 4: Chesil Beach Days – the present and future of McEwan on screen

Using Zoom, the course will deliver expert tuition, film clips and group discussion – all in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email shortly before the first session.

Join tutor Kenton Hall for this two-week introduction to short film and the people who make it, exploring its role in the modern cinema industry.

Short film is to feature film, as the short story is to the novel – a distinct medium that is not a compression of the long-form, but an individual and unique style of storytelling.

Join us for this introductory course that will explore the development of short film and its place within the industry, and look at some of the most influential shorts including The Red Balloon, La Jetee, Frankenweenie and Hotel Chevalier.

Course breakdown:

Week 1: The early days of short film

Week 2: Modern shorts and their place in the industry

Using Zoom, the course will deliver expert tuition, film clips and group discussion – all in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email shortly before the first session.

Since the beginning of cinema, Britain has produced some of the world’s finest film directors. Join us as we explore the diversity of British filmmaking through the careers of six of its best directors – from the well-known to the underrated.

Since the beginning of cinema, Britain has produced some of the world’s finest film directors. Join us as we explore the diversity of British filmmaking through the careers of six of its best directors – from the well-known to the underrated.

We’ve selected six directors whose body of work will, we feel, stand the test of time. We’ll look at how they developed, their themes and their passions. And, of course, their films, both well and lesser known.

Course breakdown

Week 1:  Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher; You Were Never Really Here)

Week 2:  Ken Loach (Cathy Come Home; I, Daniel Blake)

Week 3:  Sally Potter (Orlando; The Party)

Week 4:  Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire)

Week 5:  Steve McQueen (Shame, 12 Years a Slave)

Week 6:  Muriel Box (Eyewitness; The Truth About Women)

The course will be delivered online via Zoom, offering expert tuition in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email the day before the first session.

This four-week course takes a look at cinema’s role in the social changes of the 20th and 21st centuries – from women’s suffrage and the early civil rights movement, to the more recent Black Lives Matter and climate action protests.

Lights, Camera, Revolution! Since the advent of cinema, we have seen an acceleration of our society’s evolution – in particular, movements challenging injustices and prejudice, from women’s suffrage and the early civil rights movement, to the more recent Black Lives Matter and climate action protests.

Over the course of four weeks, we’ll explore how film has contributed to and reported on these movements.

Course breakdown:

Week 1:  The Times They Are A Changing – early cinema and social change

Week 2:  Between the Wars – how the world’s view of war affected protest cinema

Week 3:  We Will Not Be Moved – civil rights in the movies

Week 4:  The New Normal – protest cinema of today

Using Zoom, the course will deliver expert tuition, film clips and group discussion – all in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email the day before the first session.

Award-winning filmmaker and director Keith Allott leads the 2021 editin of our annual 8-week practical introduction to filmmaking, taking you step by step all the way from pre-production planning through to the final edit of your film.

Award-winning filmmaker and director Keith Allott (Badshoes Film) leads the 2021 edition of our annual 8-week practical introduction to filmmaking, taking you step by step all the way from pre-production planning through to the final edit of your film.

We will look at using the camera and what shot types cause what effects with an audience; capturing good audio and treating it; editing, edit pacing and the effects it has; and how music can change the mood of your film completely.

Course Breakdown:

Week 1:  Intro to filmmaking and the course

Week 2:  Planning and pre-production

Week 3:  Using the camera

Week 4:  Shot types and mise-en-scene

Week 5:  Capturing audio

Week 6:  Editing and post-production

Week 7:  Post audio and music

Week 8:  Entering film festivals and final recap

The course will be delivered online via Zoom, offering expert tuition in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email the day before the first session.

Following the success of our 2-week Introduction to World Cinema course back in January, tutor Kenton Hall returns with a new 4-week course that travels the world via cinema, looking for the crossover points between universal humanity and cultural diversity.

Following the success of our 2-week Introduction to World Cinema course back in January, tutor Kenton Hall returns with a new 4-week course that travels the world via cinema, looking for the crossover points between universal humanity and cultural diversity.

In the UK, English language cinema – either homegrown or, most often, from the United States – fills a large portion of our film diet. In this course, we’re going to explore the rest of what the world has to offer.

Course breakdown

Each week will concentrate on a region of the globe and highlight mainstream films and indie gems alike.

Week 1:  North

Week 2:  South

Week 3:  East

Week 4:  West

Using Zoom, the course will deliver expert tuition, film clips and group discussion – all in the comfort of your own home.

Places can be booked online only. Access details will be sent to participants by email the day before the first session.