prague / czech republic / 2021
Prague Film School is thankful to students, teachers, and staff
whose pictures are used in this catalogue
Prague Film School is one of Europe’s leading schools providing practical training in the core disciplines of
filmmaking. The school’s accelerated programs, its world class facilities and its international faculty draw
students from all over the globe bent on converting a long-held passion for the screen into a life-time
profession in film.
Prague Film School offers full-time programs in the following core disciplines: filmmaking; documentary film
production; and acting for film. Covering a curriculum in one year which might otherwise take twice as long
or more to complete, PFS programs are decidedly fast-track.
Prague Film School provides professional-level training and the school is dedicated to developing not only
informed auteurs, but crew and post production professionals. Different than many national film academies
or major private film schools abroad or in Europe, Prague Film School is characterized by its small size. This
lends a particular intimacy to the educational and filmmaking experience, promoting close work relations
with teachers and students and affording easy access to film-making facilities and a red-tape-free working
environment.
The prevailing ethos of the school is a mix of European art-house and American independent cinemas.
Faculty are recruited from both sides of the Atlantic and consist of top international and Czech professionals
who daily mentor the creative, artistic and professional development of the students. Students are also
international, coming from over 30 countries annually.
Based in Prague, it is the city of Prague itself that plays a leading role in the student’s experience at PFS.
Professional productions come from all over the globe to shoot in one of the world’s most beautiful capitals.
Students at Prague Film School have the city available to them all the time, as a classroom, as a home, and
as a film set.
SCREENWRITING / DIRECTING / CINEMATOGRAPHY / POST-PRODUCTION
SEMESTER PROGRAM (Autumn 2021, Spring 2022)
This program covers training in all core modules of film-making: screenwriting, directing, camera, post-production
and sound. In parallel and intersecting with the courses, students are expected to write, direct, shoot and/or edit
a substantial amount of material. Each student completes four short films of his/her own in the first three months
of the program in addition to working on other crews as gaffers, DPs, ADs, sound and other. At the end of the first
semester, each student will have worked on close to 20 productions.
YEAR PROGRAM (2021-2021)
The first semester of the year program is identical to the semester program (see above). During the second semester,
students can specialise in the areas their choice: screenwriting, directing, camera or post-production through
enrolling in advanced classes in these areas. In addition to regular classes, students participate in ongoing weekly
productions and practical workshops run in the school’s studios. Each student completes the year program with a
diploma film of his/her own.
THE SECOND YEAR (ADVANCED) DIRECTING / CINEMATOGRAPHY PROGRAMS (2021-2022)
The advanced year programs aim to refine and broaden students’ skills through master classes and full-time work on
film sets. The course trains talented students towards the production of longer format films.
Specialization is available in directing and cinematography.
ACTING FOR FILM
SEMESTER PROGRAM: Autumn 2021
YEAR PROGRAM: 2021-2022
While 90 % of actors come from backgrounds with theater training, 90 % of work for actors is in filmed
media. This program is for those with formal training in theater wishing to make a change to acting for the
screen.
The acting for film program at Prague Film School prepares actors to become technically skilled, versatile
and marketable in the film industry. Coursework emphasizes training for the naturalistic portrayal of
character, the most frequent style used in film. The program makes use of complementary techniques such
as Meisner’s behavior-based exercises, Robert Cohen’s techniques for integrating the actor’s many technical
tasks and physicalization exercises adapted from the Lecoq school. Courses in voice and movement will also
be an essential component of the curriculum.
The program provides intensive on-camera training and is tighthly integrated with the filmmaking
curriculum. This ensures substantial practical film work and a diverse and professional reel upon program
completion.
DOCUMENTARY FILM-MAKING
SEMESTER PROGRAM: Autumn 2021
YEAR PROGRAM: 2021-2022
Documentary film has become one of the most powerful mediums of communication.
On phenomenological grounds, it persuades through informing, moves through educating.
For the creatively vigilant and socially-minded, the discipline offers an immensely rewarding vocation.
Now with the tools of the trade financially accessible to all, documentary production is limited only
by the reservoir of ideas and story telling skills one has at his or her disposal.
The documentary film production program at Prague Film School aims at developing students’ story
telling abilities through both intensive practical work and theory and analysis. Narrative techniques
are honed through dramaturgy, directing and documentary script development curricula, drawing
upon a rich pool of international and historical documentaries crossing themes and genres.
Aesthetic, technical and craft skills are inculcated through practical courses covering lighting,
cinematography, editing and sound.
Formats used in the documentary film production program include Sony XDCAM for camera work and
Avid Media Composer for editing.
Students will work on and complete a number of documentary film productions on various social,
cultural and other topics.
FILMMAKING: SHOOT YOUR FILM IN FOUR WEEKS
4-week filmmaking workshops: June / July / August 2021
Covering screenwriting, directing, camera, editing, and sound, the four-week workshops take each student
from screenplay concept to finished short film. Each student has the opportunity to write, shoot, direct and
edit his or her film. The first two weeks are classroom and studio-based; screenwriting, directing, camera
and editing are covered. The remaining part of the program is devoted towards consultations, production
and post-production of student films.
Each workshop culminates with a show-case student film festival held in a local cinema and open to the
public.
ACTING: CALIBRATE YOUR ACTING FOR THE BIG SCREEN
4-week acting workshops: July / August 2021
This intensive screen acting course is designed to immerse students fully into the film acting process from
beginning to end. Students work the first 2 weeks on camera in the classroom, exploring scenes, auditions,
introductions, interviews and improvisation. Each day includes a movement class, group exercises and
acting theory, as well as several hours of individual on-camera work. Students learn to craft performances
for various frame sizes, as well as to develop skills to create characters and respond to other actors.
The third week of the program, students are given the opportunity to act in films directed by students in
the summer filmmaking workshop. The final week of the course focuses on auditions and marketing skills,
students can meet with international casting directors and learn how actors can showcase and develop
their own work.
The program ends with a showcase screening where students have the opportunity to see their work in the
student films on the big screen at a public cinema.
Prague is indisputably one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals. Cobblestone streets, Baroque cupolas and
medieval spires give the city a naturally breathtaking backdrop.
Prague has old-world beauty to spare, but it resides comfortably in the modern era. It is both a geographical
and moral bohemia, an exquisite city with a lively artistic subculture. Prague feels like a young city as it
pulses with vibrant life and an international atmosphere that is the envy of municipalities many times its
size. The city is well reputed for its cultural life, with a downtown stuffed full of trendy clubs, pretty cafes
and a wide variety of restaurants and shops. And thanks to its big student population, the old, lovely city
constantly receives the vitality and hum to keep it fresh and beautiful well into the 21st century.
Indeed Prague plays a leading role in the student’s experience at Prague Film School. Professional
productions come from all over the globe to shoot in the city of 100 spires. Students at Prague Film School
have the city available to them all the time, as a classroom, as a home and as a film set.
With a hundred years of filmmaking experience, Prague has a lot to offer for those who appreciate its
historic beauty and medieval architecture and at the same time have high production demands and a tight
budget.
With Prague Film School discounts or free of charge, students can draw from a number of local filmmaking
resources, including:
1. Barrandov Film Studios - film post, prop, costume and equipment rental
2. Czech Television - film lab
3. Access to historical and modern film locations
4. Contacts to other companies/organisations offering specialised film-related services.
LOCATION
Prague Film School is located in the very heart of historic Prague. The building, a UNESCO
heritage site dating back to the 14th century and reconstructed in nineties, provides a healthy
backdrop to the otherwise very up-to-date technology humming away at the school.
FILM-MAKING FACILITIES
Arri Alexa, REDcam, Arri SRIII, Blackmagic Ursa/Pocket, Sony XDCAM, Canon cameras; Arri &
Dedoweigert HMIs (575 - 4KW); Kino Flo; Red Heads; Dedolights; Desisti; Tascam / Marantz /
Sound Devices sound recorders & mixers; Sennheiser mics; wireless mics; dollies, tracks and jib;
flags; scrims; and more are the basic tools daily available for Prague Film School students - either
at the school or for check-out outside the school premises (flexible check-out policy).
Other facilities include:
Avid Media Composer editing systems
Avid Studio and Pro Tools & Digi 002 for recording sound effects and dialogues for film projects
Green screen
Acting Studio
Digitized film and sound library
School cafe
APPLICATION & CONTACT
Application forms and deadlines for year, semester and summer programs can be downloaded from
the Prague Film School web site at www.filmstudies.cz/admissions/application/
For more information, please contact Prague Film School:
Admissions Office, Prague Film School, Pstrossova 19, Prague 1, 110 00 Czech Republic
Tel: +420 257534013 Email: info@filmstudies.cz www.filmstudies.cz
prague film school
pstrossova 19, prague 1, 110 00 czech republic
+420 257534013 info@filmstudies.cz
