Film
ARTHOUSEConversations
Improve your English by talking about film.
For intermediate and above English speakers who genuinely enjoy film and want to improve their conversation skills through something they already care about.
Pick a film conversation
Choose a way into cinema and we’ll take the conversation from there.
The Auteurs
Distinctive directors and the films that define them.
New Waves
When cinema changed direction.
Blockbusters
Big films. Big audiences.
Documentary
Real stories on screen.
Adaptations
From page to screen.
Remakes
Films revisited for another time.
Through the Decades
A century of filmmaking, from the 1920s to now.
The Making Of
How films get made.
The Trades
What’s happening across the film industry.
Reviews & Awards
Reviews, reactions and awards season.
Now Showing & Box Office
What’s out, what’s working and what people are watching.
Bring something to the table
Pick something worth talking about. We’ll take it from there.
A film
A director
A review
An interview
An article
A trailer
Your choice
Film Stories
Original stories from inside the international film world. Listen, read and follow what happens.
First Time at Cannes
A producer arrives with a short film, a handful of plans and a lot to work out.
Locked Out of Post
The edit is about to begin. The money is running out. Communication starts to break down.
The Echo Chamber
An actor is promoting the biggest season of his career when his agent calls with news he was never supposed to hear during the press tour.
Want to test your film knowledge?
Follow the clues, identify the film and put its dialogue back together. Reconstruct famous lines, fill in what’s missing and separate the real quotes from the fakes.
The Auteurs
Pick a filmmaker, a film or a point of view.
A director you love
What keeps bringing you back?
One film, one director
Go deep on a single film.
Early work / later work
How does a filmmaker change?
Emerging auteurs
Who are you watching now?
New Waves
Movements and moments when cinema started doing something differently.
French New Wave
Rules broken on purpose.
New Hollywood
A new generation takes over.
Dogme 95
Strip filmmaking back.
Another wave
Bring a movement that interests you.
Blockbusters
Big films, big audiences and what makes a film become an event.
What makes it big?
Spectacle, stars, story or timing?
The event movie
When going to the cinema becomes part of the story.
Big screen craft
What earns the scale?
Your blockbuster
Bring one that actually worked for you.
Documentary
Real stories, different perspectives and the choices behind putting reality on screen.
Whose point of view?
Who shapes the story?
Where are the limits?
Ethics, access and responsibility.
Observe / intervene
How present should the filmmaker be?
Bring a documentary
Start with what stayed with you.
Adaptations
From page to screen. What changes, what gets lost and what cinema adds.
Book / film
What changed?
What had to change?
Page and screen work differently.
Faithful or better?
Does fidelity matter?
Bring the source
Novel, play, article, biography.
Remakes
Films revisited for another time.
Original / remake
What changed and why?
Why remake it?
What does a new version justify?
Across cultures
Same film, different context.
A remake you hate
Sometimes criticism is the best conversation.
Films Through the Decades
See how filmmaking changes from one era to the next, from the 1920s to now.
1920s–40s
Silent cinema, sound and a darker screen.
1950s–60s
Widescreen, rebellion and new waves.
1970s–80s
New Hollywood, bigger screens, changing industries.
1990s–2000s
Indies, digital and a new century.
2010s–now
Streaming, franchises and cinema in flux.
The Making Of
How films get made, from the first creative choices to the final cut.
Directing
Performance, tone and choices on set.
Image & sound
Cinematography, production design and sound.
The edit
Rhythm, structure and what gets left out.
Behind the scenes
Production, casting, effects and craft.
The Trades
What’s happening across the film industry.
Festivals & markets
Premieres, deals and discoveries.
Streaming & distribution
How films reach audiences.
Production & finance
What’s being made and why.
Bring a trade story
Screen, Variety, Deadline or elsewhere.
Reviews & Awards
Reviews, reactions and awards season.
The reviews
What did the critics see?
Audience vs critics
Who got it right?
Awards season
Favourites, snubs and campaigns.
The conversation around it
What made this film part of a bigger debate?
Now Showing & Box Office
What’s out, what’s working and what people are watching.
What did you just watch?
Start with the thing that’s freshest in your mind.
Worth the hype?
Take on the film everyone’s talking about.
The box office
What’s working, what isn’t and why?
What are we missing?
Pick something being overlooked.
Why talk
about film?
If you love film, why not use it to improve your English?
Talk about films you love, something you’ve just watched, filmmakers you want to explore, or choose a conversation from the collection.
You don’t need to work in film or know everything about cinema. You just need to be genuinely interested in it.
Your Film Conversation Partner
I’ve worked in and around the film industry for over two decades and have always been passionate about film. As a language learner myself, I also know the value of having someone who can keep a conversation moving, challenge you and give you the space to find your words.
How it works
Choose your conversation
Pick from the topics suggested above, or bring your own film, filmmaker or film topic you’d like to discuss.
The conversation session
A 45-minute one-to-one conversation in English. I’ll keep the conversation moving, ask questions and encourage you to explore your ideas and challenge yourself in English.
Conversation sessions
Working on a film project?
For pitches, meetings, festivals and other professional situations around the film industry.