Bela Tarr to lead new three-year doctoral level film programme

The University Sarajevo School of Science and Technology has announced a new three-year doctoral level programme, developed by Hungarian auteur Bela Tarr in cooperation with leading international film professionals.

Film Factory will involve theoretical and practical work through a series of masterclasses with leading experts and will result in Bosnian-produced films made by the course’s candidates. Four short films will be made during the first two years of the course, with the third focussing on a final thesis in the form of preparation or completion of a full-length feature film.

Alongside Tarr, lecturers confirmed for the first two semesters of the course include Tilda Swinton, Gus Van Sant, Aki Kaurismaki, Carlos Reygadas, Jonathan Romney, Jim Jarmush, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Applications are open between Oct 1-21, with 16 candidates being picked. International applications are welcomed with the Sarajevo Film Academy hoping to draw potential candidates from all over the world. Film Factory has been developed according to the Bologna standards (European Credit Transfer System) and candidates will be assisted in seeking funds.

Tarr, head of programme and dean of Film Factory, commented: “Our aspiration is to educate mature filmmakers who think responsibly, with the spirit of humanism, artists who have an individual outlook, an individual form of expression and who use their creative powers in the defence of the dignity of man within the reality that surrounds us. Probing questions concerning our outlook on the world and the state of our civilization must impact the work of the new programme of doctoral studies in Sarajevo.”

For full information on the programme, visit Film Factory’s website.