FILM 3007 - Curation & Cinephilia: The Adelaide Film Festival

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2025

This course is the capstone for the Film major. It charts the development of international film festival cultures and their historical and contemporary role in art house and national cinemas. In the first part of the course, we will examine in detail the history of selected film festivals (such as Cannes, Venice, Sundance and Toronto) and demonstrate how the year-round festival circuit facilitates global flows of films across the world. Moving from the old to the new, from the national to the transnational, from the state-funded and controlled to the independent and the grass-roots, we shall explore how film festivals involve a number of timely concerns: cultural exchange, political economy, the communal experience of film screenings, and the construction of national identities. What happens at a film festival? What role does it play? Who chooses what a festival shows? Does it allow audiences to hear new voices in global cinema? Does it offer filmmakers a platform to share their stories? Or is it something akin to 'soft power'; a form of cultural diplomacy that can be expertly used to leverage one nation's agenda over another? In the second half of the course, we will go behind the scenes at Adelaide's celebrated Adelaide Film Festival to investigate the processes behind the curation, exhibition and distribution of the films selected to appear at the Festival, and the logistical challenges at play during the planning phase. We will go on to consider the role of the Festival itself, and highlight how such an event can enrich the community in a local and international perspective.

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Course Details

Course Code	FILM 3007
Course	Curation & Cinephilia: The Adelaide Film Festival
Coordinating Unit	English, Creative Writing, and Film
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	6
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange
Prerequisites	Minimum of 15 units in the Film Major must be completed before taking the Capstone
Assessment	Research project, Discussion Board, Research essay, Film review, Research portfolio and reflective journal

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Ben McCann

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. contextualise the history and cultural imperatives of film festivals and how they operate within local and global environments

2. evaluate the aims of selected case studies of local and international film festivals

3. apply theoretical and critical skills to practical tasks in the running of a film festival

4. explain the professional activities and issues involved in the running of a film festival

5. discuss the importance of a film festival as cultural and civic event

6. demonstrate a creative response to a series of films screened at a film festival

Learning & Teaching Modes

All teaching in this course will be face-to-face.
There will be extra electronic and online resources that students may use to supplement their learning.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Workload - structured learning	Total hours
8 x 1 hour lectures	8
8 x 2 hour seminars	16
4 x 2 hour group consultations	8
14 x 2 hour screenings at the Adelaide Film Festival	28
TOTAL	60
Workload - self-directed learning	Total hours
6 hours per week of reading	72
5 hours of film viewing per week	60
5 hours research / lecture preparation per week	60
4 hours assignment preparation per week	48
TOTAL	240
GRAND TOTAL	300 hours

Learning Activities Summary

Classes will comprise a mixture of screenings, guest lectures, industry events, internships at the Adelaide Film Festival, mini-lectures, small group activities and writing workshops.
For the detailed work schedule, see the Canvas page, available to enrolled students in July 2025.

Specific Course Requirements

Students are expected to read the texts and watch the films set for the given weeks in advance and prepare their answers to any set questions, as required.

The 最新糖心Vlog's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Task type	Weighting	Course learning outcomes
Research project	Summative and formative	20%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Mini research essay	Summative and formative	20%	1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Film Festival poster	Summative and formative	10%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Film review	Summative and formative	10%	6
Reflective journal	Summative and formative	40%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Assessment Related Requirements

All assessment must be submitted no later than two weeks after the closing day of the 2025 Adelaide Film Festival (dates to be confirmed in July 2025)

Assessment Detail

Assessment	Description	% weighting
Class presentation research project	Students will critically analyse the role and cultural significance of a chosen film festival and present their findings to the rest of the class (c. 10 minutes)	20%
Mini research essay	Students will write a 2000-word essay on a specific topic in the course	20%
Film Festival poster	Students will design a poster for a fictional film festival	10%
Film review	Students will write a 500-word film review	10%
Reflective journal	Students will develop a portfolio which includes: bibliographic material, interviews, images and stills, pres notes and/or critical analysis of 6 chosen films screened, and a review of a 7th film they have watched at the 2025 Adelaide Film Festival (c. 2000 words)	40%

Submission

All assignments will be submitted electronically on or before the due date.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

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