Program Overview

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Course Overview

The course FILM 202, Cinema of Aotearoa New Zealand, focuses on the cinema and visual culture of Aotearoa New Zealand from different cultural, aesthetic, historical, industrial, and economic perspectives.

Course Details

• Dates: 24 February 2025 to 22 June 2025
• Starts: Trimester 1
• Fees:
  • NZ$1,090.60 for domestic students
  • NZ$5,560.00 for international students
• Lecture Start Times:
  • Monday 2:10 pm
  • Tuesday 3:10 pm
• Campus: Kelburn
• Estimated Workload: Approximately 200 hours or 11.8 hours per week for 17 weeks
• Points: 20

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: FILM 101 or 102 (or 231) or GLBL 101
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: FILM 237, FILM 201 in 2023

Taught By

The course is taught by the School of Arts and Media — Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Disclaimer

This course outline may be subject to change.

Key Dates

Important dates, including mid-trimester teaching breaks, can be found on the University's key dates calendar. Assessment dates will be provided once the course has begun.

About This Course

This course offers an analysis of the cinema of Aotearoa New Zealand from cultural, historical, and economic perspectives. The course is divided into three areas of study:

1. Examination of concepts such as national identity and the production of culture.
2. Analysis of the land, history, and people on screen.
3. Exploration of different approaches to filmmaking in New Zealand, situating contemporary New Zealand cinema in the global context.

Course Learning Objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

1. Demonstrate specific knowledge of the aesthetic construction of the cinema of Aotearoa New Zealand.
2. Analyse New Zealand film as a field connected to institutional, industrial, historical, and cultural formations and practices.
3. Situate New Zealand cinema within a broad understanding of national and international cinema.
4. Research issues pertaining to New Zealand cinema.
5. Communicate interpretations of films and arguments about New Zealand cinema in a persuasive manner.

How This Course Is Taught

• Lectures are in-person and include class discussion, collaborative activities, and opportunities to ask questions. Lecture recordings are provided as an additional study aid.
• Tutorials are in-person.
• Assessment can be submitted online.

Assessment

• Assignment 1: 4 x Tutorial Tasks (300-400 words each), 10%
• Assignment 2: Aotearoa New Zealand Cinema Production Contexts - Group Presentation (10 minutes) + 500-700 word individual written reflection, 30% total
• Assignment 3: Critical Comparative Analysis (2000 words), 30%
• Assignment 4: Critical Video Essay (3-5 minutes) OR Storyboard (9-15 frames, with words), 30%

Mandatory Requirements

To pass this course, students must:

1. Attend 7 out of 10 tutorials.
2. Achieve an overall pass mark of at least 50%.

Lecture Times and Rooms

Lecture times are from 24 February 2025 to 13 April 2025 and 28 April 2025 to 1 June 2025.

What You'll Need to Get

No specific texts or equipment are required for this course.

Past Versions of This Course

Older versions of this course may be accessible through the course archive.