Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

The Role of the "Special" Film in Education by Leo Dratfield Contemporary Films, Inc. The motion picture is the most important means of communication developed by man since the invention of the printing press. Because the gift of sight is common to all men, the fantastic ability of the film to communicate enables it to transcend the barriers of language, race and creed, and even to a considerable extent the differences of cultural or educational level. As a means of mass communication the feature-length entertainment film, or, more recently, its specialized versions produced for television, is the first thing that comes to mind whenever the concept "film" is mentioned. While it is true that, for better or worse, all films are "educational" in effect, a special category of educational (instructional, nontheatrical) pictures has been developed quite apart from the theatrical or entertainment mainstream. This in turn has numerous subdivisions: classroom, religious, traininiT, advertising, etc. But there is a third main current or type of film that, while it has attributes of those already mentioned, fits strictly into neither grouping. This, for want of a more precise definition, is the "special" film. Variously categorized as art, poetic, informational, documentary, educational, or experimental, these "special" films are in the main nothing more than highly entertaining, interest-challenging films dealing with those real areas of human life, thought and art that the average commercial entertainment or didactic effort leaves fallow. Due to the nature of the film industry's economics and booking eccentricities, these "special" films cannot, except for rare exceptions, be seen in the regular theatres. The public is thus deprived of access to a large body of interesting work produced by some of the world's most gifted, most creative film-makers. This situation is met by specialized film libraries, ours among others, who encourage the production and foster the distribution of the special film. In our own case, for example, the 1957 releases ( or in a few cases re-issues) ran the gamut of literary classic (VOLPONE), art (PICASSO), sociology (ON THE BOWERY), whimsy (the Lotte Reiniger silhouette cartoons), master documentaries (Robert Flaherty's LOUIS I.\NA STORY), biography (HELEN KELLER), and dozens of others, long and short. Each reflecting small segments of life — an amusement park, .-\frican masks, cinematic experimentation — these are films that, with outstanding artistry, convey an elusive yet essential part of life. The "special" film is no longer a curio, but a healthy, integral part of the film scene. Such films now circulate widely to adult education groups, to museums, schools and colleges, to film societies and to churches, and, in general, to the curious and intelligent who are dissatisfied with the stifling, sometimes anti-human, films that constitute so much of the theatre's offerings. Educational institutions draw upon the "special" film library as a tribution has been afforded such creations as those of Louis de Rochemont, British Information Services, Mental Health Film Board, Rembrandt Films, and National Film Board of Canada. Screen classics, plus the ever-expanding works of independent producers generally, broaden the diversification of offerings available through the "special" film library. Independent, creative artists all over the world are working outside the orbit of commercial production. Extraordinarily sensitive, they translate the phenomena of life into film, and give their fellowmen an opportunity to add dimension to learning and to leisure. There is growing use of and demand for the "special" film. Its ]jrospects and potential for the pro From the Contemporary Film "The Magic Fiddle" source of enrichment material as a challenging, broadening, illustrative spicing to conventional lecture or classroom routines. The special film stimulates the student's imagination and brings to light exciting facets of the world of literature, travel, the arts and contemporary thought. At present it is only through the special film library that wide-scale distribution can be obtained for many worthwhile films from unusual or specialized sources. In our own case dis EdScreen & AV Guide — December, 1957 motion of better understanding among the peoples of the world are unlimited. We cannot know everything, or be everywhere, but thanks to the film the dream of universal knowledge and universal experience is not too wild a dream. Bringing special witness by intensely creative talents that burst through conventional forms if need be in order to say their say, this "different," unusual, "special" film should be a part of the cultural fare of everyone. 579