European Film College

The European Film College

The European Film College is a school that offers an 8 1/2-month foundation programme in practical filmmaking covering the fields of script-writing, cinematography, sound, acting, lighting, directing, editing, documentary and producing. The school is based in Ebeltoft, Denmark. 115 students from around the world graduate from the course every year.

Background

Since the college opened in 1993 it has trained over 1500 young people in the art and craft of making film. The institution is based on the Danish tradition of the Folk High School (folkehøjskole), adult education institutions that do not grant academic degrees but aim to give students a common foundation in a particular field of study. This also means that both students, teachers and principal are living at the school throughout the programme.

Teachers

The faculty is made up of professionals from the international film business: Directing Fiction: Pia Bovin (Denmark), Screenwriting: James Fernald (USA), Editing: Anastasia Shepherd (USA), Producing: Paul C. Ryan (Ireland), Sound: Steen Bondrop (Denmark), Directing Documentary: Sophie Harper (Australia), Cinematography: Petru Maier (Denmark). Lighting for Film: Suzanne Popp (Denmark). Acting: Michael Morgan (UK).

The current Principal is Nadia Kløvedal Reich (Denmark). Previous Principals include Bjørn Erichsen (1990-1995), Kjeld Veirup (1995-2000), Jens Rykær (2000-2006), Pia Maria Marquard (2006-2007), Søren Høy (2007-2010) and Mette Damgaard-Sørensen (2010-2014).

Film course

English is the working language both in courses and everyday life. The curriculum combines classroom instruction in the different areas of film making as well as 3 major projects, the chance to make extracurricular projects and several smaller exercises where students are assigned to crews to make film productions. Throughout the programme students rotate the key roles in a film crew in order to gain an overview of all areas of film production. Exercises and projects are screened and evaluated in the presence of all students and teachers.

Student life

The students live on campus and the course fee includes tuition, food, accommodation and leisure activities. 50% of the students are Danish and the rest come from all over the world, in recent years from at least 25 different countries. The majority of the students are aged between 19 and 25. The European Film College requires no prior qualifications for admission but selects applicants based on a combination of experience, motivation and background. The aim is to create a global learning atmosphere with an equal balance of male and female students.

Equipment

The college has a fully equipped 300 sq m. film studio, 13 Avid editing suites, a sound studio (Pro Tools), professional sound equipment and more than 20 professional HD cameras of various sizes.

The college has two cinemas. The larger Store Bjørn ("Big Bear", named after Nordisk Film's logo) is fitted with Dolby Digital Surround sound (7.1), first-class film (digital and 3D) and BluRay projection and luxury seating for 220 viewers. The smaller one, Lille Bjørn (“Little Bear”) cinema can accommodate 45 viewers and can play BluRay and DVD.

Surroundings and Leisure

The European Film College is situated on a peninsula on the west coast of Denmark,[1] on the outskirts of the town of Ebeltoft. Popular attractions, such as the modern Glass Museum, the New Malt Factory and the Fregatten Jylland, attract many tourists in the summer. The closest city Aarhus, 45km to the west, is connected by an hourly bus service and a coach service to Copenhagen departs from Ebeltoft.

On campus there is a playing field, basketball and volleyball courts. Students can use the local fitness centre and indoor swimming pool at reduced rates.

Notable Alumni graduated from The European Film College

References

  1. ↑ Denmark

External links