Youth Programme (2006): Post-screening Discussion Questions
Note: This document contains themes and questions that a facilitator may use to generate discussion at the end of the screenings on both days of the Youth Programme.
Themes for discussion for Thursday’s Programme: TRYING TO LOCATE
Common themes all films share include:
Parent-child dynamics
- Identity
- Notions of belonging
As a starting point, one may use comparing and contrasting personal/individual experiences and extrapolate from there:
How does your life experience within the context of the aforementioned themes compare with mine; how do they contrast?
- Do these similarities and differences cross cultural/linguistic lines? If so, what makes these similarities universal? If not, what makes them unique to one’s culture
- What are some common techniques that each film uses to evoke the aforementioned themes?
- Do you believe film is a medium that can successfully provoke thought or affect point-of-view? If so, how does it do this? Refer to one specific film that you saw today that achieved this. Refer to another film that wasn’t as successful at achieving this.
Themes for discussion for Friday’s Programme: COMMON VALUE
Common themes all films share include:
Perception
- Overcoming obstacles
- Biography
As a starting point, one may use the notion of life’s obstacles and how we overcome them as individuals:
- Do these ways reflect the way we identify ourselves. Do they reflect the way we are identified by others? If the former, how do characters in some of these films overcome obstacles? Do they succeed in doing so? If so, how do they do it? If not, how do they fail? If the latter, what are the consequences of identifying someone falsely or inaccurately?
- How does someone’s identity affect the way they are perceived by others? How do characters in the film construct/cultivate their identities? Do these constructs create problems for the characters involved? If so, what problems arise?
- Do you believe film is a medium that can successfully provoke thought or affect point-of-view? If so, how does it do this? Refer to one specific film that you saw today that achieved this. Refer to another film that wasn’t as successful at achieving this.
Created by Tom Robles, Communitry Outreach Co-ordinator, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival