Film School in Písek
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The Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek is a private school located in South Bohemia's town of Písek. The school has adopted the name by Miroslav Ondříček, well known Czech cinematographer. The school was set up in 1998 with a two-year higher vocational provision in film postproduction, in animation, and in directing/producing. Later, the school was accredited to award bachelor degrees, and they have introduced a three year duration of the course. Recently, the school has announced that it wishes to introduce vocational training. Bachelor degree at the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek has started in 2004. As the first rector was nominated Professor David Jan Novotný.
One of the members of the school board is Miroslav Ondříček, the cameraman to Miloš Forman and of the British cult movie: If..... Ondříček himself is delivering lectures on occasional basis. Emil Sirotek, another cameraman of high international reputation, was helping to shape the school in its beginnings, but he died in the third year of the school's existence.
The Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček is a private film school offering an international Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film and Television. All lectures, seminars and workshops in this three-year film degree program are conducted in English. The Bachelor Degree is accredited by the Ministry of Education in the Czech Republic and therefore recognised throughout Europe and the European Union.
The Film Academy educates and trains students to a professional level with specialisations in Screenwriting and Directing; Cinematography; Sound or Editing. The program aims to instil graduates with a high level of technical competence and craft skills as well as to develop creative skills to a high artistic level. It aims to provide an environment where students can gain an understanding of underlying aesthetic principles of filmmaking, can apply those principles in practice and can explore, experiment with and challenge those principles.
Hands-on experience and team-work are both given a strong emphasis throughout the programme of study. Therefore, the course includes ongoing practical exercises which focus on specific skills such as studio lighting, camera work or editing techniques.
Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek offers the International Film Studies Program, which is an intensive one-year film course. It provides a practical and theoretical film education in English, a professional training in Directing, Producing, Screenwriting, Sound and Editing, Cinematography and Animation.
The school charges tuition fees, and as by now, they do not provide financial support, or bursaries, and consequently the students tend to be from well-situated backgrounds. Another challenge for those wishing to study is that the entry to the school is very competitive. No precise numbers are published, but it is known that approx. six compete each year for every place.
The school is viewed as a more vocational in comparison with the more research oriented and public funded Film faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In addition, the School of Film in Písek does not provide tuition above the bachelor's level, and some students from Písek are therefore continuing at the Prague's school.
The teaching tends to be hands-on oriented, and the school has a large pool of Prague based film professionals visiting it on regular basis.
