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Contextualising the diversity of worldviews
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Humanist worldview traditions
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Telling Powerful Stories Through Film: Ten TrueTube Films

CTVC Ltd is an award-winning independent media company that makes programmes for TV, Radio and Digital platforms.

What makes this of interest to RE teachers is that CTVC is first and foremost a charity, set up by the late Lord J Arthur Rank in 1965 with a remit to produce religious, ethical and moral content. Lord Rank was a wealthy industrialist and film mogul (remember the guy banging a big gong at the beginning of old films? That was Rank Films), but he was also a devout Methodist and passionate about the power of film to educate an audience about religion.

So – for example – we have produced seven series of Pilgrimage for BBC Two (with an eighth coming up Easter 2026); we have made dozens of short films for Religious Studies (like this one) for BBC Bitesize; documentaries about religious issues (like this one) for BBC Radio; and we have our very own podcast site called Things Unseen for people who have a faith, or just feel intrigued by the spiritual dimension to life.

Watch this short film, which shows the range of content we make.

Think about…

  • How you could use our films to help you explain a variety of worldviews in your lessons?
  • How you could use our films to encourage your pupils to share their own stories?
  • What films you would like us to make? (we’re always looking for ideas!)

 

Lord Rank’s vision for education is most obviously continued by TrueTube – a website that provides free short films for schools. All of the films are about values in some way or another, so they get used in assemblies, form times, PSHE, Citizenship and – yes – Religious Education. We have a short film about how to use the TrueTube website.

The strap-line for TrueTube is “short films, big stories” – and storytelling is at the heart of what we do. It might be a story we’ve made up, or a religious story that we’ve given a new spin, or a story that someone tells us about their own real-life experiences.

Here’s a selection of the short films we’ve produced…

The Demon’s Head – Nominated for a Children’s BAFTA and shortlisted for a Learning on Screen Award

The story of the goddesses Durga and Kali, and their defeat of the demon Mahishashura – a gory tale that is associated with the Hindu festival of Navaratri.

Origins – Winner of a Children’s BAFTA

This film came out of a conversation between members of the TrueTube team about how our different families and cultures usually shape what we grow up to believe. A baby is born – what lies ahead of her? What are the different lives she might lead? It’s a good film to show at the beginning of Year 7, right at the start of a course in Religious Education, to make the point that we don’t always choose our beliefs and so we should be open to finding out about other people’s.

Vaisakhi

The TrueTube cameras visited a Gurdwara on the day of Vaisakhi to see what happens there, and to listen to the locals telling us in their own words about the festival and what it means to them. This includes the story of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s formation of Khalsa, told with simple narration and some beautiful pictures.

Pilgrimage Moments: Journey of Faith

Because CTVC Ltd makes the Pilgrimage TV series for the BBC, they kindly allowed us to take lots of clips from the full episodes to share on TrueTube. This particular film is a good example of someone sharing their own story. Paralympian Steph Reid tells her fellow celebrity Pilgrims how she lost her foot in a boating accident, and how it affected her belief in God – and it’s not in the way you might expect.

The Bible in Ten Minutes – Shortlisted for a Sandford St Martin Award

It does what it says on the tin. One of those ideas that looks great on paper, but then someone has to figure out if it’s even possible. Turns out it is, just about. It’s an animated overview of the Bible’s contents (and some of its stories) and shows how the different books within its covers are arranged.

Hijab and Me – Nominated for a Children’s BAFTA, shortlisted for a Learning on Screen Award, a Sandford St Martin Award and a Broadcast Digital Award

This is a great example of contributors telling their own stories. Three young Muslim women share their different interpretations of “hijab” and why wearing hijab is important to them.

The View from the Classroom: Abortion

This is more about young people telling us their “truths”, rather than “stories” in the usual sense. We took a camera around the country to visit school classrooms and asked young people to tell us what they think about various ethical issues. There are five films (so far) and this one provides a wide range of views on the topic of Abortion.

Holy Cribs – The Synagogue

Again, not a “story” as such, but this film gives a young Jewish man the opportunity to show us his Synagogue and to talk about his beliefs and culture. The Holy Cribs films are TrueTube’s most successful series – so successful that in 2023, we decided to completely re-shoot the original Holy Cribs films we made back in the early 2010s to make sure they stayed as relatable as possible to our audience. Each film provides full access to a holy building – ideal if you can’t go on a visit, or great preparation if you’ve got one coming up.

Refugee – Winner of a Children’s BAFTA, a Learning on Screen Award, Broadcast Digital Award and a Sandford St Martin Trust Award.

A rare venture into actual drama, this is the story of a young refugee, told in reverse – so we see where she’s come from (what looks like a normal UK home) right at the end. Not specifically RE, but it can be used to start an empathy exercise when talking about multiculturalism, community cohesion and the like.

Screwball! – Winner of two Children’s BAFTAs and a Sandford St Martin Award, shortlisted for a Broadcast Digital Award

Another drama, in which a young man and a young woman navigate their first sexual experience together. Again – not specifically RE, but it can be used as an introduction to discussions around pre-marital sex, sexism and gender roles.