Umbrellas

Before watching: The film is called ‘Umbrellas’. What do you think the film might be about? What do we know about umbrellas? What might happen in the film? Do your ideas change when you know the film is 12 minutes long? If so, how?
Watch the film from 00:30 to 01:55. Which colours are used at the start of the film when we first see the umbrellas? How do you think these colours are meant to make you feel? How do the colours change when the broken umbrella enters the rain? Why has the director done this? When do we see a change in these colours again? Why?
Pause the film at 03:35. What colours are used for outside/inside the house? Do the colours match the emotions of the girl inside and the children outside? Why have the directors done this? What are they trying to say without words/what is the inference? What does the change of colour at the very end of the film (09:30) show the audience?
What changes did we see happening to the father throughout the film? Were there visible changes? Were there other changes? Why do you think the directors showed us these changes? Were they important to what we knew about the girl?

What does the film’s style of animation make you think of? Does it remind you of other stories you have seen?
Watch the film ‘Battery Daddy’. How do the relationships in this film compare with the relationships in ‘Umbrellas’? Are there similarities? Are there any differences? Which film do you prefer? Why?
What does it mean to be a parent? What skills do parents need? If you were to become a parent, what would be the five golden rules you would make sure you followed? Do these differ from your learning/shoulder partners’ ideas?
How are families different? What different family situations are there in the classroom? Is everyone’s situation the same? Does it matter?
Why is the father raising the child on his own? Where might the mother be? Should he continue to raise the child? What might be the difficulties with this situation? What would be the benefits of this situation? When we see single parents on the TV/media, it is, more often than not, a female. Why do you think this is?
Is being afraid of things good? When is it good? When does it cause a problem? What are you afraid of? Why do you think you are afraid? Of these things? Do you think you will ever overcome these fears? Why do you think this? What helps you overcome fears?