PrepClass
Photo: Edlin Jap
The PrepClass prepares prospective international students for their application at the Film University.
| Dates: multiple dates from May to July 2024 | Language: English |
Number of participants: 12 We will be able to accept more applicants for the Orientation & Mentoring sessions. | Location: Filmuniversität Babelsberg and online |
| Cost: Participation is free of charge |
In the PrepClass, international prospective students learn about the diverse study opportunities at Babelsberg Film University - from Bachelor to Master. If you would like to apply for an artistic degree programme, we will help you with your application. This offer is aimed in particular at prospective students with a refugee background.
The PrepClass takes place every summer semester and consists of two modules: Orientation & Mentoring and a short film workshop.
The application deadline for 2024 has passed.
Mentors
Directing - Sarah Noa Bozenhardt
Author and director Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, born in Freiburg and raised as a Third Culture Kid in Addis Ababa, brings her diverse upbringing to her filmmaking. Her award-winning documentaries Medanit and among us women explore socio-political aspects of womanhood, emphasizing feminist perspectives and collaborative storytelling. With a bachelor's from Emily Carr University and a master's from Film University Babelsberg, she merges educational insights from North America and Germany. Leading the film workshop Dreh‘s Um - Refram‘ed for Vietnamese-German youth with her husband and fellow filmmaker Đức Ngô Ngọc, Sarah Noa advocates for diversity in the German film industry. 2022 Sarah Noa was selected as part of the renowned Face to Face with German Films campaign and could champion her values and German cinema globally.
Screenwriting - Nana Ekvtimishvili
Nana Ekvtimishvili studied dramatics and scriptwriting at the film school in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany.
She is the writer and co-director of two feature films: "In Bloom," premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 and was Georgia's Oscar submission, and "My Happy Family," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale in 2017.
In 2015, she published her first novel in Georgian, titled “The Pear Field,” which has been translated into 16 languages worldwide and was longlisted for the Booker International Prize in 2021.
In 2019, she co-founded the 'Georgian Film Institute' with other Georgian filmmakers, an independent organization supporting Independent Georgian Cinema.
Nana Ekvtimishvili resides in Tbilisi and Berlin and is currently working on two feature film projects.
Editing - Brigitte M. Schmidle
Brigitte Maria Schmidle studied media and information at the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences specializing in film editing. After engagements in London and Berlin, she worked at the Leipzig-based production company Accentus Music on internationally awarded films. Brigitte Maria Schmidle is currently studying at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF Montage (MFA) and has so far edited over twenty documentaries, short and feature films as well as animations. Among others, the documentary "Barbara Hannigan - An Opera Star on New Ways" and "Silvia is my Name".
Cinematography - Marcus Lauterbach
Marcus Lauterbach moved to Berlin in his early twenties to gain diverse experience in the film industry through camera and lighting internships. These internships ranged from student sets to major Babelsberg productions. As part of his bachelor's degree, which he began at Konrad Wolf in 2012, his second-year film "Präsenzlücke" (16mm) screened at the Max Ophüls Preis and other film festivals. Additionally, his documentary productions such as "Domoy" and "Ahoy" were screened on television as well as at international festivals. During his master's studies, he focused on advertising films, which is now his primary focus in the industry.
Workshop instructor
Sarah Noa Bozenhardt
Author and director Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, born in Freiburg and raised as a Third Culture Kid in Addis Ababa, brings her diverse upbringing to her filmmaking. Her award-winning documentaries Medanit and among us women explore socio-political aspects of womanhood, emphasizing feminist perspectives and collaborative storytelling. With a bachelor's from Emily Carr University and a master's from Film University Babelsberg, she merges educational insights from North America and Germany. Leading the film workshop Dreh‘s Um - Refram‘ed for Vietnamese-German youth with her husband and fellow filmmaker Đức Ngô Ngọc, Sarah Noa advocates for diversity in the German film industry. 2022 Sarah Noa was selected as part of the renowned Face to Face with German Films campaign and could champion her values and German cinema globally.
The PrepClass is supported by the State of Brandenburg within the network ESiSt - "Erfolgreicher Studieneinstieg für internationale Studierende im Bundesland Brandenburg".