Overview

The BA (Hons) Film and Modern Languages at the University of Bristol combines the critical study of cinema with advanced language and cultural learning. The foundation stage develops the academic, analytical, and linguistic abilities needed to examine film as an artistic and cultural form while engaging with another language and its associated societies.

What You'll Learn

• Film history, theory, genres, and approaches to analyzing cinema.

• Close analysis of films, visual storytelling, sound, editing, and cinematic techniques.

• Cultural and historical contexts that shape film production and reception.

• Modern language development across speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

• Literature, culture, and society associated with the chosen language.

• Relationships between cinema, identity, politics, history, and cultural expression.

• Comparative perspectives on film and cultures across different national contexts.

• Research methods, academic writing, independent study, and critical argument.

• Communication, intercultural awareness, analytical reasoning, and presentation skills.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyze films using appropriate theoretical and contextual approaches and explain how cinematic techniques contribute to meaning. They will develop strong language skills and a deeper understanding of the cultural and social contexts associated with their chosen language. Students will be able to connect film with wider questions of history, identity, society, and cultural representation, while comparing perspectives across different contexts. They will also develop the ability to conduct independent research, evaluate evidence, construct well-supported arguments, and communicate ideas clearly in written and spoken forms. The combined study of film and modern languages will strengthen their visual analysis, linguistic competence, cultural awareness, and critical-thinking abilities.