As visual media saturate our lives, it is vital that students learn to decode images and messages, to ask critical questions about who is creating them and for what purpose. In the 21st Century, the ability to interpret and create media is a form of literacy as basic as reading and writing.

The Film Literacy Seminar answers this call for media literacy through a focus on film literacy. The principal aim of this Seminar is to furnish students with some of the critical viewing skills necessary to master the visual culture of the 21st Century, thus enhancing students’ competitiveness in today’s media saturated world.

This seminar introduces film literacy, film heritage and the film industry to students.

The Asian Film Archive also initiates specialized film seminars. Most recently, we conducted the Asian Horror Film Seminar for educators and students interested in scrutinizing and critically exploring ways of reading films through the genre of Asian horror films. Through such seminars participants learn concepts like the narration of suspense and to examine Asian horror films within the social and cultural context they were made in as compared to its western counterparts. Participants are also provided NOKIA N93 handphones and asked to shoot a horror video to demonstrate their understanding.