Filmtegration From C More

“C More is the leading streaming service for Swedish films and series, and we are always looking for new ways of making that content relevant for more people,” says Manfred Aronsson, CEO at C More. “We are not experts in integration or education but we can work together with teaching experts in order to give Swedish films a more important role in helping new Swedes understand and become a part of Swedish society.”

Every immigrant granted asylum in Sweden has the right to receive education to learn Swedish – via a government-sponsored program called SFI (Swedish For Immigrants). The number of SFI students is rising every year and a recent study shows that students who have followed through all SFI courses have better chances of finding employment.

Previously, it has been difficult for SFI teachers to use films as a part of education due to costs and complexities surrounding rights. But for the Filmtegration initiative, C More has selected Swedish film classics from its streaming service that can be shown and used throughout all SFI education programs.

“Film is a great way of learning new languages faster,” says Britt Lewis, SFI teacher in Nacka, outside Stockholm. “Just look at how good Swedes generally are at speaking English and the large amount of American and English films we consume. The same logic applies to Swedish films as a great resource for our immigrants. Film can also relate to Swedish society in ways that a textbook can never do.”

Sweden consists of 290 municipalities that are responsible for providing SFI on a local level. All together it is a large undertaking and this year 200,000 students are expected to take part in SFI study programs. From September 13, Filmtegration will be available free of charge for every teacher and institution working with SFI education.

The platform is a specially adapted version of C More’s streaming service, where SFI teachers can log in and use the films in their teaching. Sweden is a relatively small country but a proud producer of films. For example, the Swedish film The Square just won the prestigious Palme d’Or award in Cannes, and the latest Academy Award for best photography was awarded to Linus Sandgren for his achievements in La La Land.

As Filmtegration is launched in September, it will provide six Swedish film classics, selected by an advisory board of stakeholders from the SFI sector and the Swedish film industry, including Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, and Colin Nutley, award-winning director. The selected films are:

• The Charter Trip (Sällskapsresan)
• As It Is in Heaven (Så som i himmelen) 
• My Life as a Dog (Mitt liv som hund) 
• Adam & Eva
• Black Jack 
• The Guy in the Grave Next Door (Grabben i graven bredvid)

“Being able to transform something from entertainment to education, by simple means such as subtitles and discussions with other students is a wonderful proof of how powerful films can be in enriching society,” says Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute.

The films can be shown with Swedish and Arabic subtitles (Arabic has recently overtaken Finnish as the second largest language spoken in Sweden). For each film there is also newly developed educational material, featuring exercises and discussion questions linked to highlighted clips from the films. The materials also provide support and ideas for SFI teachers’ lesson planning. All materials have been developed in collaboration with education experts from Eductus, one of Sweden’s leading providers of SFI services. Teachers and students at selected SFI units have also tried and responded to all materials as a beta test of the Filmtegration initiative.

“The films allow students to experience a more authentic use of language, with phrases you won’t find in grammar exercises but that exist in society,” says Anna-Lena Helgesson, SFI teacher in Nacka. “Also, the films allow us to talk about things in the classroom that are otherwise hard to approach – for example discussions about gender equality or Swedes’ relationships to everything from friendship, alcohol or the weather.”

The initiative is made possible by financing from Bonnier Social Impact, a fund within Bonnier for projects that contribute to social well-being.