Earlier this year, students in the 'comparative politics' module (2nd year PaIS) employed their academic, theoretical and empirical knowledge to make their very own short film on the topic ‘what, why democracy’. Through this, the students honed their problem-solving, time-management, story-telling, organizational and technical skills. More importantly, students reconsidered their own ideas, and developed independent and critical thinking in a different—more creative—way. They also worked on their own academic research projects. In May, they presented their film and research projects during the 'what, why democracy festival', an event funded by Warwick's Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning.

 What our filmmakers had to say

• 'Please watch our films! And like them ;)'
• 'Whilst it is a creative project, it is very difficult to produce a good result without really intellectually and academically getting to grips with what democracy means. Academic and creative thinking go hand in hand.'
• 'It changed my mind. Feelings matter, and whilst making a film you cannot hide behind other researchers and their work. It's scary.'
• 'It's more about the process than about the outcome.'
• 'After finishing the film, I realised that academic thinking is critical now to think of new ways to challenge existing forms of government or propose new ones.'
• 'It's not conventional to make a short film, but it's good to approach topics such as democracy in a different way, and rethink academic knowledge.'
• 'Time-consuming. Still... extremely stimulating, inspiring, and rewarding.'