A love of film helped to steer Lee Hall to international success as a writer. Now, as David Whetstone reports, he is to help today’s youngsters along the same path

“The thrill of car chases and the slapstick of Charlie Chaplin were just as important to me as William Shakespeare.

“That’s why FILMCLUB is important. It allows kids access to the whole history of cinema – to discover things they didn’t know existed. And best of all, films are fun.”

He added: “Without a guide it’s pretty daunting to know where to start. And that’s why FILMCLUB is genius – it allows kids to create their own seasons of films backed up with loads of advice and information. And it’s free!

“Film changed my life and I know that FILMCLUB is already changing many more.”

The organisers have already garnered many responses from teachers who have been involved in the scheme.

A London primary school teacher, Peter Sanders, said: “I see the club as a powerful tool for enriching children’s lives by delivering a regular diet of high quality, thought-provoking films.

“Perhaps more importantly, both the children and staff involved look forward to Wednesday screenings as one of the highlights of their week.”

Respected educationalist Prof Tim Brighouse described FILMCLUB as a scheme which required relatively low effort to implement but which yielded “extremely beneficial outcomes in terms of learning and ethos”.

Children have been encouraged to review films and you can see some of their efforts in the evaluation report of FILMCLUB on the website www.filmclub.org.

Teachers wanting to attend the FILMCLUB induction session at Tyneside Cinema on June 3, from 1-5pm, should contact Deborah Lott on (0207) 729-3633 or at deborah@filmclub.org