Film studies is about exploring the medium of film in the broadest possible context, looking at experimental films and documentaries as well as traditional films and analysing them in the context of academic theories.

Programme taught in Icelandic.

Is the program for you??

• Do you have a passion for film and the history of cinema?

• Do you want to learn how film literacy and knowledge can add depth to the viewing experience?

• Do you want to open up future opportunities in challenging careers?

• Do you enjoy watching old films or films from different parts of the world?

• Would you like to take courses in subjects that interest you, as well as broadening your horizons?

• Do you enjoy analysing films?

What is the study about?

This is a 120 ECTS major, meaning that you will also need to take a 60 ECTS minor in a different subject to graduate with a BA degree.

Film studies can also be taken as a 60 ECTS minor alongside a 120 ECTS major in another subject.

Film studies is about exploring the medium of film in the broadest possible context, looking at experimental films and documentaries as well as traditional films and analysing them in the context of academic theories.

We live in a digital world in which people can stream content on their phones, computer games are a major global cultural medium, and the boundaries between film and computer games are becoming blurred. Many of the same methods are used to create both films and computer games. The future is digital and it is visual. A degree in film studies will prepare you for that future.

Main focuses

• Film analysis

• Film theory

• History of film

• National cinema

• Film genres

• Film auteurs

• The relationship between cinema and literature

• Symbolism in films

Main objectives

• to provide an overview of the history of Western cinema and, to a certain extent, cinema in other regions,

• to train students to understand and interpret films from various periods and different countries, e.g. with reference to other artistic forms, literature and culture,

• to introduce the main concepts and methods within film studies and instruct students in the critical use of handbooks and other writing about films, literature and culture in general,

• to teach students to independently discuss films and other visual material and texts in academic essays

Requirements and teaching methods

Students are required to do a lot of independent study. Students are expected to consider and analyse the set films as well as familiarising themselves with set reading material. Reading material is primarily in English and Icelandic.

It is important to attend class, but students will only benefit if they have seen the films, read the texts and prepared thoroughly.

Another important aspect of independent study is completing assignments and composing essays. To ensure that classes are lively and collaborative, students may have to prepare and present in class various assignments.

Lectures and discussion periods are generally held in the Main Building or Árnagarður, though film screenings always take place in the University Cinema.

About film studies

Film has long been a dominant artistic medium in our culture and this is still the case in the early 21st century. But the arrival of social media and digital technology has revolutionised visual media of various forms.

Young people are not just consumers of visual material, but also creators, and the format of the visual material itself has been transformed. For these reasons, visual literacy, film analysis and image interpretation have become more important and nowhere is this better reflected than in the film studies programme at the University of Iceland.

In film studies, students learn about screen culture, how to watch films critically, and how to think about them purposefully using new approaches. Students learn to express themselves on the subject of films and visual material using academic vocabulary and terminology.

Students are trained to understand and interpret films from various periods and different countries, e.g. with reference to other artistic forms, literature and culture.

The programme explores specific genres, including cult films and Westerns.

Other focuses include national cinema (Japanese, German, Italian cinema), film auteurs (Varda, Pasolini, Lynch) and different academic approaches (feminism, queer studies, auteur theory, national/world cinema).

The film studies programme has run 'Engar stjörnur' since 2017, a team of student film critics that has reviewed over two hundred films. As of 2019, Engar stjörnur also issues a podcast about films. Engar stjörnur collaborates with all Reykjavík cinemas and students write their reviews with support from film studies instructors, who also edit the material.

Reviews are published by Hugrás and shared on social media.