Film Overview
An extended essay in film provides students with an opportunity to undertake an in-depth investigation
into a topic of particular interest to them. Students are encouraged to engage in diligent, serious,
personal research, and to develop and explore in a disciplined and imaginative way an area of study
specifically appropriate to film or television.
Moving images are part of the everyday international currency of information and entertainment.
Audiences everywhere, young and old alike, respond with increasing sophistication to the ways that
stories and messages are presented. Complex skills are involved in the interpretation and enjoyment of
film, but critical understanding of how images tell stories, create emotional responses and give
information is less widely developed.
The study of film in an international context also allows students to broaden their vision of film culture
beyond the dominance of Hollywood or popular network television images, in keeping with the spirit
of intercultural understanding promoted by the IB.
Choice of topic
The first and most critical stage in preparing for the extended essay is the choice of a suitable topic and
students need appropriate guidance in making their final choice. The topic for an extended essay in
film must be one that clearly focuses on film (or television) rather than another subject area. For
instance, a study of film adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays or of classic novels must not become an
essay about the plays or the novels from a purely literary point of view, instead of a discussion about
the films from a filmic point of view.
The scope of the topic and the framing of the research question must be given careful consideration.
The topic needs to offer enough scope to provide material for a substantial essay without being too
general. It needs to be one that captures the interest and enthusiasm of the student. Establishing a topic,
however, is not enough. The essay also needs to have a sharp focus within the topic and the student has
to be perfectly clear about the following issues.
• What important question about the topic will the essay answer?
• What major arguments or points of view about the topic will be developed or proven in the
course of the essay?
• What needs to be said about the topic?
• What will the reader be led to understand about it?
• How might the ideas discussed be supported by evidence?
• What evidence will be appropriate?
Students should avoid developing ideas around the topic and research questions that have been
addressed fully in earlier academic studies unless they propose to examine existing views and argue
against them to a greater or lesser degree. Earlier studies must be used as a basis for discussion and not
be merely replicated.
Students should be firmly advised to avoid topics that are:
• mainly dependent upon summarizing secondary sources
• likely to lead to approaches that are essentially narrative or descriptive
• too general and not well focused
• more appropriate to other subject areas.
Students should check very carefully, before embarking on a topic, that they have sufficient sources to
support a substantial essay and that they have access to these sources when they need them. Early
planning is essential.
Please note: Students who are taking the Diploma Programme film course must exercise care in
selecting the material for their extended essay to ensure that it does not overlap significantly with any
other work the student is preparing to submit for examination. The extended essay should not be based,
for instance, on the same films the student has studied for the independent study assessment or for the
presentation.
The following examples of titles for film extended essays are intended as guidance only. The pairings
illustrate that focused topics (indicated by the first title) should be encouraged rather than broad topics
(indicated by the second title).
• “A comparison of the treatment and depiction of the family in the films of Satyajit Ray and
mainstream Hindi films” is better than “The role of the family in Indian cinema”.
• “The contribution of Nino Rota’s composition to the films of Fellini (or Morricone–Leone,
Williams–Lucas)” is better than “Effective composer–director relationships”.
• “Goddess and vampire: two female archetypes in Hollywood cinema” is better than “Women
in film”.