French Film Culture & Filmmaking

Our next summer workshop will take place on our Paris campus over a two-week period in July 2025.

This two week workshop taught in the English language gives students a balance between introducing key aspects of French film culture while proving the fundamentals of practical filmmaking.

A combination of Paris cultural excursions, master classes and practical lessons, this workshop is ideal for the international filmmaker curious to get a good understanding of French cinema while getting a solid practical introduction to the craft.

The deliverable is a collective short film made with the faculty during the two weeks.

Total ECTS credits: 2

Summer workshop
50 years of EICAR
Training costs : 1950€

Sessions

👉 July 2025

To register for the workshop, please send your request by e-mail to [email protected]

French Film Culture & Filmmaking

Next intake:

July 2025

Duration:

2 weeks

Entry level:

Relevant campuses:

Paris

Week One

#Day 1

Introductions of Class, Crew, Professors and staff
Defining project for production, outlining shoot limits, production opportunities and exploring school and resource of the fortnightly project
Writing fundamentals. Short versus Feature film considerations.
Character based storytelling vs. three act structure
Analysis of key short films at EICAR
Defining beats, writing the treatment, defining the pitch
Dialogue versus action
Brainstorming for group parameters

#Day 2

Directing fundamentals of film grammar
Shot listing
Basic prep and pre production fundamentals
Continuity
Visual storytelling and conceptual editing basics
Master class on French film styles and movements and highlighting auteur theory vs Hollywood in approaches
Group brainstorming for screenwriting sessions

#Day 3

Location scouting: Tracing the steps of famous French films and how locations were used. Follow the footsteps of Agnes Varda’s character in the seminal work "Cléo from 5 to 7".

#Day 4

Set fundamentals and working as a crew, designations of crew and casting plus scheduling for project
Field Trip to Luxor Cinema for Film Screening

#Day 5

Bastille Day / Day Off : Students can meet individually for prep

Week Two

#Day 6

Editing Master Class Designing coverage and Understanding film Continuity
Final pre production preparation, final casting, crew scouting and test prep

#Day 7

Final Group Project All Day Shoots as a Collective

#Day 8

Master Class Lecture about film Styles and Genres
Final film editing and post production sound, read out of summaries written of cultural excursions

#Day 9

Visit to the French Cinematheque and Screenings Exhibits
Picnic at Francois Mitterand Library

#Day 10

Final Review of cultural excursions and final screening/ceremony in late afternoon

EICAR

In a few figures

9000

m² of facilities

in Paris and Lyon
300

professionnal

trainers
+500

productions

per year
12800

alumnis

EICAR Network

Our programs

Our students projects

Frequently asked questions

No. Our BFA, MFA, One Year Filmmaking programs and our summer workshops, “Making a Short” and “Writing a Short” are taught in English. The school nevertheless provides French classes as part of the degree programs to help you to immerge into French culture.

Admissions begins in late October and is rolling but usually goes until early summer depending on places that remain.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program is 2 years, the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is 3 years; the One Year Filmmaking program is 1 year. All of our full time programs during the year require the student to apply. Summer Workshops can be one to three weeks and require only that one registers.

French Film Culture & Filmmaking