Journeys in Film, is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization and is the newest project of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, a nonpartisan research and public policy center that studies the social, political, economic and cultural impact of entertainment on the world—and translates its findings into action.

Our collective goal is to enrich the educational experience of American students by harnessing the storytelling power of film. We believe film has the power to prepare students to live and work more successfully in the 21st century as informed and globally competent citizens.

WE SELECT FILMS

Our team reaches into the global film market to find feature-length, English- and foreign-language narrative and documentary films to engage students in active learning. We look for films that are meaningful and mind-expanding, age-appropriate and provocative. Some of the films tell stories of young people from faraway countries and cultures. They explore issues such as poverty, the plight of refugees, climate change and pandemics. Some films find their way to us via companies and studios that know our innovative program and want their brand associated with the quality of the educational curriculum and outreach we provide.

WE DEVELOP CURRICULUM GUIDES

Using films as springboards for interdisciplinary lesson plans, a team of top-notch educational experts, subject-area specialists and editors develop the highest quality standards-based curricula for teaching core academic subjects. Students move beyond engrossing movie narratives toward deeper learning through lessons in math, science, language arts, social studies to topics like environmental sustainability, hunger, global health and media literacy.

WE CONDUCT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS

Our film-based lesson plan approach not only helps students learn, it also enables educational systems to enrich their core academic offerings through professional development opportunities designed to help educators meet their federal and state educational performance mandates. Educators benefit from specialized instruction to maximize our prepared curricula and learn how to integrate film into core educational standards. We offer one, two and three-day workshop options.

The Lear Center is part of the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the Annenberg School is among the nation’s leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication and their impact on politics, culture and society. Annenberg offers BA, MA and PhD degrees in journalism, communication and public relations. For more information, please visit www.learcenter.org and www.annenberg.usc.edu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more about us, please visit the following pages:

• Our Mission
• Our Goals
• Our Team
• Board of Directors
• National Advisory Council
• Curriculum Guides
• Our Results