The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at Oxford University is looking for budding film enthusiasts in Years 7-11 and 12-13 to embrace the world of French cinema. To enter the competition, students in each age group are asked to re-write the ending of a film in no more than 1500 words.
You can work in English or French. No additional credit will be given for writing in French, but incorrect French grammatical expression will not be penalised: this is an exercise in creativity, rather than language!
The judges are looking for plausible yet imaginative new endings. There are no restrictions as to the form the entry might take: screen-play, play-script, prose, prose with illustrations. This year we are launching a separate competition for filmed entries: we’re keen to see what your Youtube endings might look like. Experiment!
For 2015 there is a choice of films in each category:
Years 7-11: Le Petit Nicolas (2009, dir. Laurent Tirard) OR Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis (2008, dir. Dany Boon)
Years 12-13: Dans la maison (2012, dir. François Ozon) OR De Rouille et d’os (2012, dir. Jacques Audiard)
A first prize of £100 will be awarded to the winning student in each age group, with runner-up prizes of £25. A first prize of £100 will be awarded to the winning student(s) in the filmed entry category (which spans both age groups), with a runner-up prize of £25.
The teacher of the winning student in each category will be offered free attendance at the Sir Robert Taylor Society Conference, a forum for continuing professional development and exchange between practitioners of modern foreign languages teaching in secondary and higher education (see http://sirroberttaylor.wordpress.com)
For further details about entering the competition (including the points in each film where we'd like you to take up the story), see the FAQs. Each essay should be accompanied by a cover sheet.
Essays and cover sheets should be submitted by email to french.essay@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk by noon on 27th March 2015.
The French film essay competition is very grateful for the generosity of Routes into Languages and the Sir Robert Taylor Society.