"The Florida Project" - Worksheets

Exercise 1: Introduction to the Film

Fächer: German, English, Arts, Ethics from Klasse 9

Before going to the cinema:
a) Study the poster for the movie Zum Filmarchiv: "The Florida Project" and answer the following questions:

• Describe the characters on the poster. In doing so, refer to their facial expressions and poses.

• Speculate as to their relationship.

• From your point of view, what does the poster say about the content of the film?

• What associations do you make with the slogan “Welcome to a magical kingdom”?

• Which colours dominate the poster? What atmosphere does the poster convey with these colours?

• Does the poster make you interested in the movie? Explain your impression.

While at the cinema:

b) What goes through your mind during and immediately after the movie? Make a note of your thoughts with key words.

After going to the cinema:

c) What question occupies you the most after watching the film? Present this question to the class and discuss it with your fellow-students and your teacher.

d) Compare your results from a) with what you actually saw in the movie. To what extent did the film differ from the expectations raised by the poster? Discuss in class.

e) Form small groups. Watch the trailer for the movie. What strategies do the children develop to make their lives better? Each of you should note your thoughts on a separate placemat.

f) Present your observations to the small group. Agree on an overall assessment of the behaviour in the film. Write this assessment down in the middle of the placemat and then present it to the whole class.

g) In an article published in the Austrian newspaper, Der Standard, the movie was described as “a happy film about an unpleasant world”. Do you agree? Discuss this question together in class.

Optional Additional Exercises

h) The film focusses on the children’s point of view. The director said he wanted to make the children appear big and powerful in the movie. In this screen grab, he has succeeded in doing so. How? Discuss.

i) As you have seen, the Zum Inhalt: camera angle can be used to give the film’s characters certain effects. Read the glossary entry on the different camera angles.

j) Form partnerships of two. Take photos of each other with your mobile phones using the various camera angles. Print the photos and create your own glossary of camera angles.

Exercise 2: Moonee and her Relations with the People in her Surroundings

Fächer: German, Englich, Politics, Philosophy, Drama from Oberstufe

The central character in the movie "The Florida Project" is the six-year-old Moonee, who lives in the motel complex Magic Castle in the immediate vicinity of Disney World in Florida. Her life is marked by her relations with the people in her surroundings: her two friends Scooty and Jancey, the motel manager Bobby and her still very young mother, Halley.

Before going to the cinema:

a) What are your thoughts about mother-and-child relationships? Write down your spontaneous associations. .

b) Collect your results together in course by writing them down on a foil. Just leave them for a while.

While at the cinema:

c) Divide up the work so that you each focus on one of the following characters:

• Moonee, the six-year-old protagonist

• Halley, Moonee's mother

• Scooty und Jencey, Moonee's friends

• Bobby, the motel manager

After going to the cinema:

d) Form small groups, making sure that every character from c) is represented. Make a chart of characters with the protagonist Monee at the centre. Entitle it “Moonee’s Relationships“. Use key words to describe the relationship between Moonee and

• Halley

• Jancey und Scootey

• Bobby

Instructions on how to make a chart of characters can be found Zum externen Inhalt: here (öffnet im neuen Tab).

e) Stay with your working groups. Select one of Moonee’s relationships. One of you assumes the role of director. Create a still image that reflects the characteristics of the respective relationship using body language, facial expressions and gestures.

f) Present your still images to each other. Did you achieve similar results or are there differences in how you see Moonee‘s different relationships?

g) One prominent role is played by the relationship between Moonee and her mother Halley. Refer back to your results from a). To what extent does their relationship reflect a typical mother-and-daughter relationship and to what extent does it differ? Formulate the tragic aspect of the relationship? To do this, watch the following two Zum Inhalt: scenes again.

The English version of the clip can be found Zum externen Inhalt: here (öffnet im neuen Tab).

h) Watch the first scene from g) again. How would you describe Bobby‘s role in the scene? What role does he assume in the film overall? Discuss this question in class.

Exercise 3: Cheerful Melancholy – Visual imagery in "The Florida Project"

"The Florida Project" is characterised by a visual imagery that seems to contrast with the content of the movie.

While at the cinema:

a) Form groups of four. Analyse the filmic means used in the start of the movie, with regard to the atmosphere they generate. After watching the film, write your results down in the form of key words.

• Zum Inhalt: Camera movement

  and Zum Inhalt: angle

• Zum Inhalt: Closeness of camera to/distance of camera from object

• Zum Inhalt: Colour
• Zum Inhalt: Sound

Tip: the glossary contains notes on individual aspects.

b) Collect your results in the small group and speculate about the genre of the film.

After going to the cinema:

c) Conduct research into the term “colour dramaturgy” by reading the article Zum Inhalt: Alles so schön bunt hier! – Farbdramaturgie im Film by Jörg Hetebrügge.

d) Divide your course group into two halves A) and B).

Gruppe A): First, compile the colours that dominate in the film and discuss their symbolism. Then research examples from other movies/series that work with similar colours. To help you, watch the opening sequence of the film again.

Gruppe B): First, compile the issues addressed in the film. Then research examples from other movies/series that address similar topics.

e) Present the results of your work to each other. Then write them all down in a table or on a smart board. Discuss in class the significance of the interplay between content and colour dramaturgy in the movie.

Note down the significance of the interplay between content and colour dramaturgy "The Florida Project" :

f) The director, Sean Baker, said about the colours in the film: “With children, you imagine that their senses are sharper, that they are more receptive. Sounds are louder, colours richer, tastes stronger. They soak up their environment – and sometimes they don’t. Then they are somewhere else entirely and all they can think of is their next ice cream.”

Based on this statement, write down a movie critique that focusses especially on the field of tension between colour dramaturgy and issues in d) and e). Discuss critically to what extent you consider the selected form of portrayal as successful for the topic in question.