IB Diploma · session May 2027
Film
Guide first assessed in May 2023.
Topic 1
Nothing matches that.
The course in one page
The course in one page. Standard and higher level, for the guide first assessed in May 2023 — the guide May 2027 candidates sit.
What the course is
Film in the DP is taught through cycles of inquiry, action and reflection, and you work in three capacities at once: as a spectator who analyses, as a researcher who contextualises, and as a creator who makes.
The course is deliberately global in scope. A portfolio drawn entirely from Hollywood is a narrow portfolio, and the comparative study explicitly rewards work across contexts.
The four topics
| Topic | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading film | how meaning is constructed through film language — shot, edit, sound, mise-en-scène |
| 2 | Contextualising film | how films are shaped by and shape their historical, cultural and institutional settings |
| 3 | Exploring film production roles | working in specific roles: direction, cinematography, sound, editing, screenwriting, production design |
| 4 | Collaborative film project (HL) | making a film as a team, each in a defined role |
Assessment
There is no written examination. Film is assessed entirely by coursework.
| Component | SL | HL |
|---|---|---|
| Textual analysis — close analysis of a prescribed film extract | ✓ | ✓ |
| Comparative study — a filmed video essay comparing films across contexts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Film portfolio — your work in production roles, with reflection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collaborative film project — a completed film made as a team | — | ✓ |
Educerie does not mock this subject; there is nothing to mock. This material sets out what the components reward and how to check your own work against them.
The one skill everything depends on
Analysing the film, not the story.
The commonest and most expensive error in this subject is writing about what happens rather than how it is shown. A paragraph that could be written by someone who had read the screenplay but never seen the film has no film analysis in it.
Every claim should be anchored to a decision someone made: where the camera was placed, how long the shot lasted, what was in focus, where the cut fell, what was audible. The relevant questions are always what did they choose, what else could they have chosen, and what difference does it make.
Timecodes are not optional
Every observation should carry a timecode. "At 04:12 the camera moves from a two-shot to a single on the mother" is analysis an assessor can verify. "Later in the scene they focus on the mother" is not.
Common ways students lose marks
- Recounting plot instead of analysing technique.
- No timecodes, so claims cannot be checked.
- Naming a technique without saying what it does — "there is a close-up" and nothing further.
- Analysing only the image, ignoring sound, which carries at least as much meaning and is consistently under-analysed.
- Drawing all material from one national cinema, usually American.
- In the comparative study, comparing two films that share no meaningful basis for comparison.
- In the portfolio, describing what was done rather than the decisions and their consequences.
- Reflection that evaluates ("it went well") instead of deciding.
Educerie · written from the published IB Diploma Programme structure for Film, first assessment 2023. Original text. This subject is assessed entirely by coursework; there is no written examination. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.