After the success of the first edition, La Fémis will organize the Gulf Summer University in 2015, a intensive training programme for young aspiring filmmakers native from the Gulf Region, thanks to the active support of local sponsors (Cinescape in Kuwait, the Doha Film Institute in Qatar, Image Nation and Total in the UAE) and the French Embassies in the GCC region.
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La Fémis
La Fémis was created in 1986 following the footsteps of IDHEC. Chaired since 2010 by international award winning director Raoul Peck, and supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Media, La
Fémis, the French national film school, trains 50 students every year to be directors, screenwriters, producers, editors, directors of photography, sound designers, production designers, continuity supervisors, film distributors and exhibitors.
Ranked as the 6 th best school in the world by the Hollywood Reporter in their recent rankings, La Fémis is one of the most awarded schools in the world (through its alumni).
La Fémis has become a reference in France and abroad, providing an excellent level of training (50 students are selected each year amongst 1.200 applicants), based on high standards regarding films, artistic expectations.
Over twenty-five years, La Fémis’ students have directed over 2 500 short films, fictions and documentaries. Often more than exercises, some of these films are genuine works containing the seeds of new talent, which have been selected and rewarded in many festivals (Cannes Film Festival, Berlin
Film Festival, Clermont Ferrand, Mostra, Locarno, etc)
La Fémis is located in the historic Pathé Studios (the world’s largest film equipment and production company in the early 1900) in the 18 th district of Paris. It is located nearby the Sacré-Coeur, in the heart of Montmartre (which has always been the neighborhood of choice for young artists and actors).
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Learn filmmaking in Paris
Paris is an incredible place to live in and make films. It is the birth place of cinema and was the place of many significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, started in France.
Paris is the center of this vibrant film culture (highest density of cinemas in the world). Since the 1950s, the city has been a world capital for the study of film as an art form.
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The programme
The Gulf Summer University is a new programme proposed by La Fémis together with local sponsors and the French Embassies in the Gulf which started in 2014.

This programme is open to very motivated young filmmakers, native from the Gulf regions who wish to develop their practical and theoretical knowledge of filmmaking in France.
The Gulf Summer University programme runs for 5 weeks of intensive classes, 5 days per week, during which trainees thoroughly explore the filmmaking craft. The aim is not to provide specialized technical training, but to involve trainees in creating works that allow them to better understand the roles and tasks that are part of today’s filmmaking. Trainees will also have the opportunity to discover contemporary French cinema through the study of major French directors.
The programme is divided into two parts:
- Filmmaking: Theory
Classes are given by professionals from the French film industry in which the following subjects are taught: production craft, the work of a producer, co-production, funds and festivals, cinema aesthetics,
French cinema, screenwriting, film fundamentals, script continuity, story breakdown, directing, casting…
- Filmmaking: Practical
While making a film (in digital) based on an existing script, trainees are involved in the various stages of the project’s development: rewriting, location scouting, shooting (1 day) and editing (4 days).
Each trainee makes a 5 minute fiction film. Each trainee, in turn, assumes directing, camera operating and photography, sound recording and editing. For that purpose, trainees will learn the fundamentals of cinematography, sound recording and editing.
Throughout these exercises, the trainees are supervised by professionals who regularly teach at La
Fémis.
Language:
All courses are taught in English. The ability to speak, write and read English is compulsory
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Number of trainees
9 from the Gulf Region (United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar).
Admission level: students or young professionals very motivated by filmmaking, native from the Gulf region, must be at least 21 years old and not over the age of 30.
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Application deadline : 26 th of April, 2015
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Information, contact at La Fémis
Pascale BORENSTEIN, Head of International Affairs and Continuous Training
E-mail : p.borenstein@femis.fr / Tel: + 33 1 53 41 21 10
Julie TINGAUD, Deputy Head of International Affairs
E-mail : j.tingaud@femis.fr / Tel: + 33 1 53 41 21 45
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Information, contact in Kuwait
François BROSSARD, Director of Institut francais du Koweït
E-mail : françois.brossard@institutfrancais-koweit.com / Tel: + 33 94 02 22 81
La Fémis - 6 rue Francoeur, 75018 Paris, France www.femis.fr