For 13 years, things have been the same: in august, somewhere in Romania, 15 young filmmakers and artists from all over the world get lined up to make a short film in five weeks. Very often, the results are not only some films that get selected and receive awards in film festivals all round the globe – around one in three…it`s more about getting the confidence in what they can create and even a new vision about the world and life. This year the workshop starts on August 1, in Baru, Hunedoara county.
The 15 participants of this year`s edition come from 8 countries: Bulgaria, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Romania and Spain. They are directors, cinematographers and editors who will be split in five teams and guided for an entire month to find a story, shoot and edit a film from zero.
For some of them - Sofia Nelega, Gabriela Forfotă, Ioana Pop and Magnus Lorenz – the
workshop is part of their Master`s Degree graduation exam that they will take next year, in the Documentary Filmmaking Master`s program of
the Babeș-Bolyai University. This is the first academic initiative in Romania for specializing in non-fiction film production.
The five weeks start with a
masterclass led by Thierry Garrel, who has been the former Head of the Documentary Department of the ARTE French-German television station for 17 years. Then the students will be guided by Lotte Mik-Meyer, John Appel, Jeroen Berkvens and Laurent Bécue-Renard, who are acclaimed filmmakers with many awards in the documentary film festivals circuit.
According to the workshop manual, the shootings can take place at a distance which is only at a two hours drive away from the production boot camp. This year, the boot camp is the Babeș-Bolyai University campus with which Aristoteles Workshop signed an unprecedented partnership.
Travelling by the SUV GLCs offered by Mercedes-Benz Romania, the crews will be able to cover areas that include Deva, Hunedoara and the Sarmisegetuza archeological sites.
The participants of the previous editions say that the Aristoteles Workshop experience represented an important moment in their professional life. “After this workshop everything seems possible for me. Change my career, change my life.” Bogdan Crăciun said.
“You should have been there. An extra-or-di-na-ry experience. I`ll keep with me these weeks as long as I live. What an ingenious way to unleash the potential! Now I look at films in a totally different way. I`m still at the beginning, but I feel I`m on the right track.” Octavian Segărceanu confessed.
“I learned more in five Aristoteles Workshop weeks than in three years in college” said
Adina Pintilie, the winner of this year`s Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
From 2018, AW has settled partnerships with the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Theatre and Television and with Cinepub.ro, the online platform where Romanian films can be watched free and legally, all over the world.
This year`s edition is financed by the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), the Romanian Filmmakers Union (UCIN) and DACIN SARA and supported by NouMax.
The participants will cross the Hațeg area in cars offered by the workshop partner, Mercedes Benz.
Aqua Carpatica and Domeniile Sâmburești are the partners of the Aristoteles Workshop.
Details:
aworkshop.org
