Irada Ayupova: ‘It is very important not just to watch films but also to discuss them’
The Ministry of Culture and Tatarkino told which Tatarstan films can be included in the school list on Putin's instructions
“Cinema gives life instructions to the subcortex of the brain. All the messages embedded by directors are deeply perceived,” said Tatarkino director Milyausha Aytuganova commenting on the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to compile a list of 100 domestic films for showing in schools. She is sure that such a practice is very useful, because through films the material is absorbed much easier. According to Aytuganova, the list should include film adaptations of school literature. However, one viewing is not enough, says Tatarstan Minister of Culture Irada Ayupova — it is necessary to hold discussions about films with schoolchildren. Read more about Putin's order and what the republic can offer in this matter are in the report of Realnoe Vremya.
List of 100 Russian films
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Ministry of Education, together with the Presidential Council for Culture and Arts, to create a list of 100 best Soviet and Russian feature films for showing in general education institutions. The document was published on the Kremlin website.
The order also proposes to include topics in educational programmes aimed at introducing students to classical cinema. Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov and director Karen Shakhnazarov have been appointed responsible.
The deadline for the execution of the order is 30 August. The list of orders was prepared following the meeting of the Council for Culture and Arts, which took place on 25 March.
The initiative to add cinema lessons to the school curriculum was put forward at the meeting by Deputy Chairman of the Council under the President of Russia for Culture and Arts Karen Shakhnazarov. He emphasized that this would help in the artistic and patriotic education of young people.
“Our children need to feel like part of society”
Speaking about films that should be included in the school curriculum, the Minister of Culture of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova focused on several works. In a conversation with Realnoe Vremya, she expressed the opinion that the list should include both Soviet and modern Russian films. She specifically singled out the films Cheburashka, The Final, The Air, One Hundred Years Ago, Guest from the Future. You can also pay attention to cartoons, for example, The Flying Ship and The Bremen Town Musicians.
“National cinema can also be very interesting. Russia's strength lies in its multinational unity. Therefore, the list can also include films about Tatar culture, promote the native language, for example, there is a film called Mullah,” she added.
Films in classes should not only be watched, but also discussed, impressions shared, Ayupova expressed confidence. She gave an example from her own experience, when at school she discussed the works she had read with her classmates:
“On Saturdays, we had a class hour. During them, we discussed the extracurricular literature we had read, shared our own thoughts and formulated our own life positions. This is how we learned to convey them to other people.”
During the discussion, people get to know each other better, and trust grows between them, the minister is sure. Ultimately, this contributes to “harmonization in society.”
“Children need to share what imprint this or that work left on them. They need to be taught this,” Ayupova shared, “This way they can understand that, in principle, they are more similar to their friend than they thought, that they dream of the same thing. This is what our children need — to feel part of society.”
“Film lessons are not a new, but a relatively modern form of working with schoolchildren”
“This is not only entertainment, but also additional visual educational material. It is very good to discuss what you have watched, read. We have also already received such an assignment. Everything is moving in this direction: now all literary works, historical materials will be included in the school curriculum in the format of cinema as the most accessible means of perception,” she told Realnoe Vremya. Director of Tatarkino Milyausha Aituganova, in turn, believes that films on school literature should be included in the list
Tatarstan has something to offer in this matter: the republic has a separate “bank” of film adaptations of Tatar literature. At the moment, schools have already been offered 12 such films.
Moreover, in Tatarstan over the past years, Screen Literature project has been in operation, within the framework of which children are shown screen adaptations of school works. “Cinema lessons are not a new, but a relatively modern form of working with schoolchildren”:
“What does cinema do? Cinema gives life instructions to the subcortex of the brain. All the messages embedded by directors are deeply perceived. Such material is always perceived better, because it affects both the auditory and visual nerves. Watching a film always gives a deeper impression.”
