Black Filmmakers on Film: Andrew Onwubolu Introduction

Andrew Onwubolu MBE has developed his craft of filmmaking throughout his career from a self-taught filmmaker uploading music videos and short films to YouTube to being awarded an MBE for services to Drama and Music.

This resource comprises three lessons which introduce learners to
Andrew Onwubolu, his filmmaking style and debate the role of an
auteur in a film production.

Download the full resource from the Into Film website.

Lesson 1 - Guerilla Filmmaking and Autuer Theory
The first lesson in this resource introduces or reacquaints young people studying GCSE or A level Film Studies with the concept of an auteur by analysing the filmmaking style and directorial motifs in Andrew Onwubolu’s film Blue Story and his earlier work Shiro’s Story. This will lead on to analysing the theory and features of auteurism in the films of Spike Lee, John Singleton and Alfred Hitchcock. Learners are then tasked with planning a crowdfunding campaign for a film production before planning and filming a revision film on the topic of
auteurism in the style of one of the filmmakers discussed in this lesson.

Lesson 2 - Discovering the Auteur
This second lesson continues to develop learners’ understanding of auteurism by debating who has the most creative control on a film production before planning a presentation. The project for this lesson is to produce a film in the style of one of the auteurs studied in this lesson sequence, summarising what learners know about auteur theory to be used as a revision aid.

Lesson 3 - Debating the Auteur
The final lesson in this sequence is an opportunity for learners to practise writing an answer to an examination-style question which is scaffolded with opportunities for peer and class feedback before individuals produce their own essay.