Cinemagique: Learn and practice French in a fun way thanks to cinema
Work to awaken the student’s interest in French and Francophone culture, immerse them in a unique cinematographic experience during a one hour online session and educate their “eye” thanks to the use of royalty-free short films, here are the objectives of the Cinemagique programs presented by the non-profit association Red Chemistry founded in 2006 by the Franco-American Isabelle Lambert in Miami.
“The idea is to practice the language in a fun way: the students watch short films and depending on the age we react afterwards; for the youngest we talk about the theme, the characters, the story, the moral etc. With the older ones, we are interested in the realization, the study of the plans, the movements of the camera and the angles of view, which allows in particular to understand how the film reviews are written and so that their they can write about it,” explains Grégory Durieu, president of the association.
Creation of the Cinemagique program
From 2016, the Cinemagique program was created for public schools and Charter schools in Miami-Dade County in English, French and Spanish from grades 5th to 12th. A presentation of a selection of short films adapted to each age is made in schools around themes chosen in collaboration with teachers of languages, literature, history-geography or philosophy.
“Depending on the session, students can learn the history of cinema and make pre-cinema tools such as a leaflet or a thaumotrope, make a storyboard from a short film, from their own story, or even from a storyboard. using a fable by La Fontaine for example or a text by Maupassant for older children, as well as making a movie poster. We also have a session around the animated film and the students make their own stop motion story, which is very successful,” explains Grégory Durieu.
Courses now available online for individuals
The Cinemagique programs are now available for students and professionals alike (10 years and older) who wish to perfect their French language learning, face to face or in groups via online workshops. The themes cover, among other things, the history of cinema, technical aspects, film criticism and links with our society.
For all information on the online workshops: www.cinemagique.org