MA Film
- Entry year:
- 2025/26
- Start date:
- September
- Study mode:
- Full-time
- Course duration:
- 1 Year
- Campus:
- Mount Pleasant
About this course
This hybrid MA enables students to develop practical and theoretical skills in film production and analysis.
- Combine practical filmmaking and film criticism
- Choose between practical and theoretical assignments
- Embed your learning within an academic and film industry-based context
- Study on a course that explores and promotes filmmaking in the city of Liverpool, capitalising on its cinematic history and its current and future production activity
- Learn from staff with a broad range of research specialisms, including practical filmmaking, academic writing, screenwriting and producing video essays
Studying on this new MA affords you the opportunity to study in one of the UKs most dynamic cities. Liverpool is the second most filmed city in the UK after London and has a vibrant media and cultural industry.
This forward-looking MA prepares you for bridging the traditional gap between theory and practice, by inviting you to both 'think' and 'do' film, thus bringing down barriers and forging new approaches to the analysis and production of films.
The MA Film promotes an experimental approach that considers film as a tool for research and a means for understanding, exploring and representing the world. The programme will build a cohort of practice-informed academics, and theory-informed practitioners, while offering the opportunity to study in a dynamic city with a burgeoning film industry.
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Professional accreditation
The Liverpool Screen School is a BAFTA albert Education Partner and proud to be working with albert to arm students with the sustainability knowledge they’ll need when joining the screen industries. BAFTA albert is the leading screen industry organisation for environmental sustainability.
Your Learning Experience
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
Typically, full-time students will be expected to attend taught sessions two days a week, currently Mondays and Fridays. Times will vary week to week and timetables will be provided to students upon enrolment.
Teaching methods
You will participate in a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and field trips. One-to-one supervision and independent learning form a major part of the day-to-day management of student time.
Applied learning
Over the duration of the programme you will craft skills and apply these in the field of filmmaking through practical modules and your final project. You will apply a range of theoretical concepts and historical context to your written work.
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
All modules offer students full flexibility in choosing the kind of assignment they prefer. Options include making a film, conducting an academic written research project, creating a video essay or writing a screenplay.
Where you will study
The School is based in the Redmonds Building, in the heart of the bustling Mount Pleasant Campus and Liverpool's growing Knowledge Quarter. Redmonds is shared by two Schools within the Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social Studies - Liverpool Screen School and the School of Law - and Liverpool Business School, making for a rich blend of student learning experiences. The building is home to high quality lecture theatres and seminar rooms, broadcast studios, news rooms, media production suites, social spaces and a café. It is only a short walk from LJMU's Aldham Robarts Library, which contains all the resources you will require for your studies.
Course tutors
Dr Lydia Papadimitriou
Programme Leader
The MA Film offers students the opportunity to research film both through practice and theory – and the choice of focusing more on one or the other. It is also unique in engaging students with film festival organisation at all stages (from programming to hosting the events) via the LJMU MA Short Film Festival, and experiencing first-hand what happens before a film reaches an audience. Whether you are mostly interested in creative exploration through the medium of film, or to deepen your academic understanding of film studies, the MA Film will give you the opportunity to sharpen your creative, analytical and organisational skills.
The MA Film offers students the opportunity to research film both through practice and theory – and the choice of focusing more on one or the other. It is also unique in engaging students with film festival organisation at all stages (from programming to hosting the events) via the LJMU MA Short Film Festival, and experiencing first-hand what happens before a film reaches an audience. Whether you are mostly interested in creative exploration through the medium of film, or to deepen your academic understanding of film studies, the MA Film will give you the opportunity to sharpen your creative, analytical and organisational skills.
Dr Lydia Papadimitriou is Reader (Associate Professor) in Film Studies and Programme Leader for the MA Film at Liverpool John Moores University. She is the festival director for the LJMU MA Short Film Festival, a unique feature of the MA Film (https://ljmumashortfilmfestival.org/). She has published extensively on different aspects of Greek cinema, as well as film festivals, distribution, documentary, and Balkan cinema. She has won two ‘Individual Teaching Excellence Awards’ from LJMU for her innovative teaching of film festivals.
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Lecturer/Senior Lecturer
Career paths
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
Graduates on this programme would typically be either working in or looking to move into careers in:
- Film Production
- Digital Content Production and Distribution
- Marketing and Communication
- Tourism
- Location Scouting
- Film Festivals
- Teaching
- Corporate Communications
- Cultural Management
- Further Postgraduate study (MPhil and PhD)
External engagement is central to the MA Film degree. Liverpool Screen School works with a range of national and regional organisations including: The Liverpool Film Office, BBC, ITV Northern Lights Partnership, Lime Pictures, Envy Post Production London, FACT, HOME Manchester, TATE Liverpool, Creative England, and the BAFTA award-winning companies Hurricane Films and LA Productions.
Twickenham Studios are due to launch a brand new film studio in Liverpool, and we are currently exploring possible partnerships that will offer employment possibilities to some of the MAs graduates.
Tuition fees and funding
- Fee:
- £8,965
Fees
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus wifi.
Financial Support
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages. The University offers a range of financial support for students. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist financial support pages including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.
Additional Costs
In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:
- Accommodation
- Travel costs and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
- Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
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The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.