The Door
Based on the monologue A Whole Life Written Down on Doors, the Testimony of Nikolai Fomich Kalugin by Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, Director Juanita Wilson’s poignant, emotive film begins with a very simple act, the stealing of a door. However, as the film progresses and the narrative unwinds, we discover this act is far more complex than we could have initially imagined. The door is in fact a vital part of a traditional ritual, carried out by a grieving family in the aftermath of the Chernobyl tragedy. The Door is a universal symbol of life, of death, of entering the next life. It has many associations inherent in it, both positive and negative. It can mean an opportunity gained or an opportunity lost: As one door opens, another one closes.
Irish director Juanita Wilson’s first film The Door was nominated for an Oscar 2010 and went on to win numerous awards and festivals throughout the world. Juanita Wilson is a producer and director, known for As If I Am Not There (2010) and Tomato Red (2017).
THEMES:
Tradition & Progress
TOPICS/ISSUES:
Nuclear Power, Loss, Grief, Tradition, Environment, Fake News, Social Media.
NI CURRICULUM LINKS:
History, Language & Literacy: English with Media Education, LLW - Personal Development, UICT/ICT, Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities.
The suggested activities in the Lesson Plans below can easily be used to support cross-curricular/connected learning at Key Stage 3. You may choose to deliver all the activities within one department or work cross-departmentally to deliver particular activities.
MOVING IMAGE ARTS
A recorded interview with Director of The Door Juanita Wilson is available in the Masterclasses page of this website. This Q&A webinar was recorded in June 2020 as part of our Shortcut Teachers Conference. The conversation has been split into 4 bite size masterclasses for your classroom. Juanita Wilson discusses in detail each stage of The Door film production. Juanita has kindly shared her script/screenplay and other pre production documents with us. These can be found in the worksheets section of this webpage.
Lesson Plans
KS3 Lesson Plan One (Nerve Centre)
The lesson will develop pupils understanding the power that film has in telling important stories and raising awareness of particular issues. They will focus on how media is now used to shape and inform us, and the ways social media has changed how we view our world in particular considering the impact of fake news.
There are 4 suggested activities in this lesson plan: 1. Compare and contrast two clips from the film. 2. Explore what the film tells us about Chernobyl. 3. Consider the reliability of sources, research the Chernobyl disaster. 4. Create a webpage including a report and imagined interview from the time of the disaster.
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Lesson Plan Two (Poland)
The lesson intends to strengthen the students understanding of the film. They will explore the ventilation of emotions, with introducing and deepening the border theme that grows out of the conversations about door as a metaphor of transition. It will also present the key theme of the lesson: how the tensions between tradition, modernity and the individuals needs shape a persons life.
Lesson Plan Three (Czech)
Students get acquainted and work with the concept of tradition.
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MIA Material Film Analysis (Portugal OFDL)
An in-depth film analysis of The Door.
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MIA Material Frame & Scene Analysis (Portugal OFDL)
An in-depth analysis focused on one film frame and three scenes in The Door.
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MIA Support Powerpoint
Support Powerpoint for MIA Lessons 1, 2 and 3.
- Film Analysis
- Frame Analysis
- Scene Analysis
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Work Sheets
KS3 Worksheets One (Nerve Centre)
These worksheets can be used with "KS3 Lesson Plan One (Nerve Centre)" above. The worksheets support students' analysis of the film and also provide a frameworks for group discussion, personal research and planning for a webpage that includes a fact based news report and imagined interview (a "how to" support video can be found below).
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Chernobyl Fact File
Resource material for News Report activity
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The Door Q&A (Czech)
The Door Q&A provides research material on the film and its subject matter.
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An Introduction to Film Language
Additional support material: An Introduction to Film Language using the 3C's & 3S's, Camera Shots and Angles.
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Worksheets 2 KS3 (Poland)
The worksheet will prepare the students for a deeper understanding of The Door by creating an interaction between the content of the film and literary texts. Other worksheets support the variety of activities within lesson plan 2.
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The Door Powerpoint
This material supports the lesson plan as a fact file with additional resources and questions for class discussion.
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The Door Screenplay
Courtesy of Juanita Wilson
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Research images for The Door
Research images, courtesy of Juanita Wilson.
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Interview Transcript
This is the interview transcript with Juanita Wilson in 2011. Published in Patricks Nash's book, Short Films Writing the Screenplay, 2012. The interview focuses on Juanita's experience writing and directing The Door.
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