The use of video films in foreign language teaching in schools is as yet not firmly established, at least in the Federal Republic of Germany. This is especially true for the teaching of French as a foreign language. One of the reasons for this blind spot as to the use of this medium is the lack of adequate video films for the communicative foreign language classroom. A new series of video films for second year French classes and the corresponding exercises are to be introduced. I should like to concentrate on two aspects of this production: (1) the alternative design of the films proper, and (2) the implications for exercises in order to ensure that the films are used as media in their own right, thus adding a new dimension to the foreign language classroom.