AJMI - Doha

Al Jazeera Media Institute is organizing a new training course under the title " Critique and analysis of film discourse" in April. The course aims to enhance skills of participants in understanding filmmaking from a critical perspective and how to analyze cinematic discourse to enhance their awareness and feel of cultural and social issues reflected in films. It also aims to provide trainees with basic theoretical and practical knowledge that makes them able to provide deep critical analysis of films, both in terms of technical elements and narrative contents.
"Critique and analysis of film discourse" course will focus on aspects related to critical concepts, social and cultural contexts affecting cinema, symbolism and cinematic discourse, as well as cinematic analysis tools.
The course includes a wide range of topics covering various dimensions of film critique, including theoretical and critical foundations of films, definition of film critique and its importance in contemporary culture, moving to cinema development from the beginning to the digital age, learning about major film schools such as classical, modern, and experimental school, systematic film critique writing principles, importance of social and cultural contexts in filmmaking, role of local and international culture in shaping film content, as well as the relationship between historical events and cinematic messages in films.
Topics will also focus on cinematic analysis tools through application of critique theories to understand film artistic components, studying cinematic style elements such as lighting, shooting angles, music and their importance in analysis, in addition to narrative structure analysis, characters development and understanding film producer objectives to match with target audience orientations. It then sheds light on how cinematic discourse is used to embody required meanings and values, understanding the different cinematic symbols and narrative techniques used in films, importance of studying the impact of character development on film general message and learning scientific and practical criticism procedures.

This course targets public interested in cinema, whether filmmakers or film critics, on a training journey combines theory and practice that contributes to developing a deep film understanding, that enable participant to interact with the training material and analyze a group of films as part of the program.
The course instructor, Muayad Abdullah, specializes in media production and has more than 25 years of experience in documentary filmmaking and news work. His academic career began with studying film and television at the University of New Mexico. He has also provided training courses in Libya, Jordan and Iraq. He has produced and directed numerous films for Al Jazeera in Black Box and Special Investigations programs, including investigative films such as Death Truck and Uranium, a silent death, as well as investigations in Iraq.