The digital landscape in which young people learn and create is undergoing a rapid transformation. The introduction of age assurance technologies across social media platforms, alongside the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence, has fundamentally reshaped how students engage with screen-based technologies. These shifts present both opportunities and challenges for education.
In response, schools are increasingly tasked with creating learning environments that empower students to become critical, ethical and creative users of digital media. This shift has placed digital literacy at the centre of contemporary education, positioning it as a dynamic mode for communication through which students can articulate ideas, explore perspectives, and amplify their voices on issues that matter in their developing worldviews.
Now in its 10th year, ISV’s Student Film Festival continues to support digital literacy and celebrate student achievement in screen‑based learning. Over the past decade, it has recognised filmmaking as both a vital learning process and a rich creative outcome for students.
Through showcasing short films, the festival highlights the depth of learning that occurs when students engage meaningfully with screen-based storytelling. When engaging with the processes of film making, students can manipulate visual imagery, spoken language, sound and music to construct complex and layered narratives. The mastery of these elements for communication can provide valuable transferable skills to prepare students as creators and consumers in a media rich world.
The production of film projects also offers rich connections to curriculum content across all learning areas. This process supports the integration of the General Capabilities outlined in the Australian Curriculum, including Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability and Ethical Understanding. Through film production, students apply knowledge and skills drawn from classroom learning, personal interests and co-curricular experiences. Students are challenged to plan, solve problems, reflect and refine their ideas as they translate their learning into visual narratives. Importantly, they can consider personal, social and cultural perspectives to support authentic and purposeful storytelling of their film narratives.
The collaborative nature of film making further enhances its educational value. Producing a short film typically requires students to work in teams, drawing on a diverse range of technical and creative roles including scriptwriting, acting, cinematography, sound design, editing and production design. This collaborative structure mirrors real-world creative industries and provides students with meaningful opportunities to contribute individual strengths while working towards a shared goal. Over time, the Student Film Festival has highlighted this power of collaboration, witnessing a wide range of imaginative and technically accomplished projects from class groups amplifying the values of participation and peer learning.
Beyond skill development, collaborative film making can also support student wellbeing. Research and practice in youth mental health highlights the positive impact of group projects that foster connection, shared purpose and creative expression. Working towards a common goal encourages communication, mutual support and a sense of belonging. As students create short films for the festival, they share ideas, manage timelines, and negotiate roles, they develop resilience and interpersonal skills that contribute to positive wellbeing outcomes.
By fostering creativity, collaboration and critical engagement with digital media, ISV’s Student Film Festival continues to play an important role in supporting positive, purposeful screen time. It stands as a celebration of student voice, learning and the evolving possibilities of education in a digital age.