Film and Visual Culture and French

Film and visual culture studied alongside French brings together the theory and history of the moving image with the language, culture and cinema of the French-speaking world. Film studies asks how images and sounds create meaning, how cinema has developed as both an art form and an industry, and how the moving image relates to the political and cultural contexts in which it is made and received. French cinema has been central to the development of world film culture, from the early work of the Lumiere brothers through the New Wave to contemporary francophone cinema across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

Studying the two disciplines together gives you both theoretical depth and linguistic access to a major national cinema tradition.

At the University of Aberdeen, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, which is central to the French component and gives you sustained immersion in a French-speaking environment, deepening your linguistic fluency and cultural understanding. You will develop your film analysis skills across the history and theory of the moving image from a contemporary European perspective, while simultaneously building your French language competence and your knowledge of the cultures, literatures and histories of French-speaking countries. The programme opens up international possibilities across the creative arts, media and many other fields.

With a typical entry tariff of 200 UCAS points, this is a demanding programme. Graduates from film and visual culture with French programmes pursue careers in the film and television industry, journalism, arts administration, broadcasting, translation and interpreting, education, cultural diplomacy and international business. The combination of sophisticated visual analysis and French language competence is particularly valued in organisations working at the intersection of European culture and the media.

Postgraduate study in film studies, French studies, cultural studies or translation is a natural next step for those who want to specialise.