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CALL : Online seminar “A transnational History of Film Schools in the 20th Century”

In order to extend the exchanges that have taken place in the context of the trilateral workshops entitled “Film schools in the 20th century: artistic circulations, political sociabilities and professional networks” held from 2021 to 2023 at Villa Vigoni[1], this seminar will bring together researchers from all continents whose research in history, film history and film studies addresses the issue of training for the film professions. While the VGIK, the Soviet Union’s State Film Institute, founded in Moscow in 1919, inspired pedagogy in Roma (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografica created in 1934) as well in in Paris (IDHEC 1944) and served as a model for the creation of film schools in several socialist countries during the Cold War (the FAMU in Prague, Łódź in Poland and the Potsdam-Babelsberg School in the GDR), each film school distinguished itself by asserting a singular identity, while maintaining strong links both with film professionals and with other schools and institutions. As places of training, experimentation and artistic as well as political exchange, film schools are on the periphery of the film industries, while at the same time providing the seeds for future transformations in the film industry. A number of recent works have highlighted the richness and interest of the films made by students at these schools – an interest that seems to be confirmed by the recent programming of some of these films as part of festivals, retrospectives and exhibitions[2]. This ‘rediscovery’ and promotion of these student films highlights the many connections between the schools, underlining the circulation of images, ideas and people that they initiate.

This circulation takes place at several levels. Transnational circulation seems to be the most immediate, with foreign students and lecturers being welcomed into film schools, and foreign films that had not been programmed in the national cinema network being screened in these schools. More specifically to the period of decolonisation and the Cold War, these schools also raise the question of the reception and role of students from Africa, Latin America and Asia in Europe. Exchanges between the schools and the film and audiovisual industry are also a recurring issue, whether in terms of students’ future career paths, the contribution of working professionals to training, or simply the possibility of access to a place for experimentation and reflection. The current re-circulation of student films also raises questions. While some schools are now opting to digitize the films made within their walls in order to share them more easily, others lack the resources to fully address these issues.

Based on this wide range of issues, the seminar aims to bring together researchers who are interested in one or other of these issues, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Particular attention will be paid to proposals from researchers in Africa, North America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania with whom we would like to exchange. We will welcome both completed research and more preliminary proposals from academics, independent researchers, young researchers and doctoral students, since the aim is also to exchange ideas on methodological issues. We will be using digital transcription and automatic translation tools, so participants who are not entirely comfortable in English or French (the main languages of the seminar) will be very welcome.

Proposals for papers may fall under one of the three following perspectives:

  • A transnational history of the social actors in film schools:
  • What are the trajectories of students and teachers, between several schools, several countries and/or several roles?
  • What is the social, ethnic or gender composition of the social actors in these schools and how has it changed over time?
  • What sources are we producing on this history by collecting interviews (oral history)?
  • A Film School transnational history:
  • How do the pedagogical and artistic dimensions, as well as the political and economic ones, fit into a transnational network (the role of CILECT, for example);
  • How do film schools administration interact with the professional world or with other training places?
  • Student films as artistic objects and historical sources:
  • How can we access film and non-film sources to write a transnational history of film schools?
  • What do these films tell us about the lives of these students and, in the case of foreign students, about the societies that welcomed them?
  • Should the status of student films be rethought in terms of conservation, promotion and circulation in the context of the geopolitical issues that shook up the second 20th century (decolonisation, Cold War)? 
  • What are the ethical issues involved in returning their films to the former students who made them, or to the countries from which they came?

The seminar will take place online once a month from March to December 2025.

Proposals for papers should be around 500 words long and must specify the sources used and the main bibliographical references. They should be accompanied by a short biography and sent by 14 February 2025 for the session from March to June 2025, and by 1 June 2025 for the session from September 2025 to June 2026, to the following addresses: gabrielle.chomentowski@univ-paris1.fr, m.pierre.bouthier@u-picardie.fr, perrine.val@univ-montp3.fr.


[1] Project coordinated by Gabrielle Chomentowski, Gesine Drews-Sylla, Caroline Moine and Stefano Pisu: https://www.chcsc.uvsq.fr/les-ecoles-de-cinema-au-xxe-siecle-circulations-artistiques-sociabilites-politiques-et-reseaux-professionnels-2

[2] For instance: “Saving Bruce Lee: African and Arab Cinema in the Era of Soviet Cultural Diplomacy” (exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2018), curated by Rasha Salti et Koyo Kouoh; “Podróż [voyage] : Devenir cinéaste marocain en Pologne” (a programme of short films by Moroccan students found by Léa Morin and Marie Pierre-Bouthier at the Lodz film school in Poland and shown in Paris and La Rochelle, 2023) ; “Echos der Bruderländer” (exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2024) ; “Die DEFA-Stiftung präsentiert: Babelsberger Filmhochschule 1954–2024” (Berlin, 2024).

Refernce Bibliograpphy via this link.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Stéphanie-Emmanuelle Louis (20 janvier 2025). CALL : Online seminar “A transnational History of Film Schools in the 20th Century” HPCA. Consulté le 13 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/1340n


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