COURSE INFORMATION:

WHAT: We will explore the uncertainties inherent to working processes that rely on an openness to the people and situations filmed, and to the unpredictable course these may take. We will also engage in a series of readings of key works of literature, engaging with the encounter.

WHERE: Online, please join from the comfort of your own home.

WHO: Run by filmmaker, researcher and educator Therese Henningsen  & Juliette Joffé, a filmmaker and lecturer based in Belgium.

WHEN: 6 sessions, Tuesday evenings, 7-9 PM, with a 1-week mid-course break: Session 1 – Tues 6th October, Session 2 – Tues 13th October, Session 3 – Tues 20th October, Mid-course break, Session 4 – Tues 3rd November, Session 5 – Tues 10th November, Session 6 – 17th November

COMMITMENT: 2 hours per week, with extra optional reading/watching.

WHAT YOU GET: 6 sessions facilitated by professional filmmakers and academics, alongside a cohort of others with similar research interests.

HOW MUCH: General: £195 | Student/Concession: £180 | UCL Student: £165

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: Rolling basis

BURSARIES: Please see our bursaries page for more info.

AGES: 18+

We often think of documentary filmmaking as being organic, “in the moment”, and impromptu. And this is all, of course, true. But there is also a huge amount of prep work that needs to be done in order to turn a film idea into reality. In this course, we’ll go through the whole pre-production process in detail, from research, casting, proposal writing, and taster-tape making through to funding and pitching. The course is aimed at new and emerging producers and directors, with a focus on presenting creative independent documentary film formats. Students are encouraged to prepare a real or hypothetical film to develop and “pitch” during the course. This course will leave students feeling enabled to take the next step with their film ideas and with a thorough understanding of how rigorous planning and preparation can lead to a better film.

COURSE INFORMATION:

WHAT: This popular course is a staple introduction to understanding documentary practices and theories, open to people of all levels.

WHERE: Online distance learning, take part in this class from your home with a computer/tablet

WHO: Run by Media Scholar and Practice-led Researcher, Catalin Brylla

WHEN: CURRENTLY ONBOARDING FOR SUMMER EDITION

Full Course – 10 weeks, Tuesday evenings, 6:30 - 9 PM. 6th October – 8th December 2026.

COMMITMENT: 2.5 hours per session, with extra optional reading/watching.

WHAT YOU GET: An in-depth series of discussions and lectures, offering students a robust overview of many significant documentary theories.

HOW MUCH:

Full 10-week course prices:

Full Price: £325.00 | Students/Concessions: £275.00 | UCL Students: £255.00

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: Rolling basis.

BURSARIES: Please see our bursary page.

AGES: 16+

This 8-week intensive course is open to those from varying backgrounds (completely new or with some experience) to come together and feel a sense of community telling stories about a place, space or group that connects to a sense of home. Using technology and software already available (such as your smartphone or a camera you may already have), you will learn how to create compelling documentary stories that you can continue to work on after the course.

The practice of making new films from recycled fragments of old ones opens exciting opportunities for revisiting past events. Crucially, it also allows audiences to reflect critically on the histories of image-making. 

This course will explore the ethical questions that confront makers and audiences alike when recordings are ripped from their original context and re-appropriated to new ends. We consider the problem of archives that contain images that dehumanise their subjects, as well as the creative strategies used by artists and filmmakers to produce ethical reworkings of materials associated with our troubled pasts.

This online course explores the role of sound in challenging the way we remember, archive and exhibit micro-histories. Covering theoretical, ethnographic and arts-based approaches to sonic archiving, participants will develop skills to discuss, record and display alternative archives that challenge colonial forms of knowledge production.

COURSE INFORMATION:

WHAT: An eight-week course identifying various ideas relating to urban anthropology, modernism, and ethnography, framed within the context of cities. Explored via films, photography and texts.

WHERE: Online distance learning, take part in this class from your home with a computer/tablet.

WHO: Run by anthropologist Barbara Knorpp.

WHEN: 8 weeks, Monday evenings, 5th October – 23rd November. 7-9 PM (UK Time)

COMMITMENT: 2 hours contact time per week. Optional readings between sessions.

WHAT YOU GET: 8 weeks to engage in online seminar discussion and watch and discuss films, photography and writings on the subject of urban anthropology.

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: TBC.

HOW MUCH: General Price: £295, Students/Concession: £275.00 UCL Student: £255.00

BURSARIES: Please see the bursaries page.

AGES: 16+