"Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second."
 - Jean-Luc Godard

Welcome to Film Studies!

Films play a prominent role in our experience of the world today, and the Film Studies Program at Laurier addresses that experience.  Our courses are designed to emphasise the study of international film history, the distinctive character of film as a medium, and individual films as texts.  We explore questions of film genre, style, theory, and history — always placing film in the context of the liberal arts and in relation to a variety of cultural concerns.  Through regular screenings, discussion, and assignments that draw on close textual analysis, our courses provide opportunities for students to write and think critically about film, and to explore issues of aesthetics and representation.  Students also investigate the commercial, historical, political, and economic contexts that affect and govern the production of film. We offer three degree options:

• Honours BA in Film Studies
• Combined Honours BA in Film Studies (taken in combination with another honours subject)
• Minor in Film Studies

Learning Objectives:

The Film Studies Program aims to provide students with:

• An understanding of the history of film and modes of film practice;
• A practical knowledge of key methods of critical analysis and film theory;
• An appreciation of the relationship of film style to its modes of production;
• A broad knowledge of film styles, genres, and national cinemas; and
• A critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about film.

What can I do with a degree in Film Studies?: Graduates of our program have pursued successful careers in film and TV production, education, library and information science, film restoration and archiving, graduate programs in film and media, sales, advertising, journalism, and entertainment law.

Annual prizes for Film Studies students include the Campbell/Verduyn Prize for Film Studies and the Princess Cinema Award.

Please take the time to explore and learn more about our Film Studies Program.