Presentation

This programme is for students passionate about all genres of film and moving image (fiction, documentary, experimental movie, institutional film, TV programme, video clip and advertising). Although training in directing – including personal scriptwriting – remains central, this Bachelor course also provides extensive multidisciplinary skills in the various film-making professions (scriptwriter, director of photography, editor, sound recordist, mixer…).

Through lectures and workshops provided by renowned figures of the discipline, the students perfect their skills in fields as varied as stage direction, actor direction, scriptwriting or production. Commissions by institutions or companies ensure that students are confronted with an actual working environment. Often presented in festivals the world over and broadcast on national and foreign TV channels, ECAL films are regularly awarded distinctions. Additionally, the students benefit from theoretical courses and multidisciplinary conferences on the ECAL premises.

The skills acquired during the Bachelor curriculum allow students to explore and submit a portfolio of varied films, enabling them to then sign up for various film-making professions, to produce art house films or advertisements, and to work in television, production companies or festivals. The students may also further their knowledge in their preferred field by embarking on the Master in Cinema at ECAL or a similar programme in another institution.

Language

French

Qualification issued

Bachelor of Arts HES-SO in Visual Communication, major in Film

Yearly fees (materials included)

CHF 2425.-

Length

6 semesters

Credits

180 ECTS

Useful links

Admissions Contact

Equipments & infrastructures

Cinema Studio Sound Studio

Learning Objectives

First year
Filming Actors workshop with Monia Chokri and Josée Deshaies
Filming Actors workshop with Monia Chokri and Josée Deshaies
Filming Actors workshop with Monia Chokri and Josée Deshaies
Workshop with Agnès Godard
Workshop with Agnès Godard

1/5

  • Acquire basic artistic and technical notions related to writing (script) and directing personal and collective fiction and documentary films.
  • Deepen the technical tools related to image (light, camera, editing, etc.) and sound (set, sound editing, Pro-Tools software, etc.) as well as to the direction of actors/actresses.
  • Learn about film theory (writing logbooks, sequence analysis, courses in Film History & Aesthetics, History of Art, Photography, Digital Culture, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Contemporary Photography, exhibitions and publications).
  • Benefit from numerous masterclasses with personalities from the world of cinema and other disciplines.
  • Actively participate in the Clermont-Ferrand Festival and in a workshop organised on site with students from theatre conservatories.
Second year
Light workshop with Marianne Lamour
Make-up workshop with Sonia Geneux

1/2

From the second year onwards, students specialise in one of six possible options: Direction – Screenplay – Photography – Edition – Script Supervison – Sound

For all options

  • Complete internships on feature films via filming and/or editing and/or observation courses in collaboration with RTS/RRS (script and editing).
  • Enhance your knowledge through theory courses (internship diaries, writing portraits during masterclasses and interviews according to the chosen disciplines, writing a research paper on a free subject [2nd year]; in the 3rd year writing a major dissertation dealing with a particular aspect of the major).
  • Participate in festivals (one-week stay at Visions du Réel/Nyon, as well as at Cinéma du Réel/Paris, Angers and Belfort [for scriptwriters]).
Direction Option
  • Direct two short films (fiction and documentary) during the academic year, assisted by screenwriters/directors and editors.
  • Get familiar with scriptwriting, directing actors and actresses, composing film crews, safety onset, creating budgets, shooting authorisations, music rights, editing (Avid, Premiere, Pro-tools), and creating film credits.
  • Develop your writing through theoretical workshops (writing portraits during masterclasses, writing a research paper on a free subject).
  • Participate in festivals (one-week stay at Visions du Réel/Nyon, as well as at Cinéma du Réel/Paris, screening of the semester’s documentary films at the Centre Culturel Suisse/Paris.
Image Option
  • Participate as chief operator, camera assistant, electrician, stagehand for fiction films, documentaries and graduation films (BA and MA).
  • Use specific cameras, locations, cutting techniques, films, etc.
  • Learn about the various image-related trades (camera assistant, point workshop, lights & electricity, machinery, security, etc.).
Screenplay Option
  • Write and direct short fiction and documentary films.
  • Write a feature-length fiction film over two years and get accustomed to writing exercises (short synopses, notes of intent, sequencing, treatments, characterisation of characters, non-dialogued continuity, dialogued scenes, etc.).
  • Shoot a sequence of the planned feature film.
Sound Option
  • Work as a sound engineer on fiction and graduation films (BA and MA).
  • Make a documentary film (from writing to sound editing).
  • Learn specific techniques (perched sound recording, HF, ambience, mix range exercises, etc.).
  • Develop a freesound creation.
  • Learn how to use ECAL’s sound studio and how to prepare projects before mixing in the Auditorium.
Script Supervision Option
  • Work as a script supervisor on feature films, documentaries and graduation films (BA and MA).
  • Immerse yourself in workshops on reading cards, timing, chronology, continuity and counting, technical cutting and floor plan, match cuts, learn to work with other trades (HMC, decor, accessories, etc.).
  • Collaborate on graduation films with students from La Fémis’ Script Supervison Department.
Editing Option
  • Edit short fiction films (BA and MA).
  • Direct and edit short documentaries.
  • Learn about the job of assistant editor on feature films (project preparation, derushing, synchronisation, workflow, etc.).
  • Use advanced software (Avid, Premiere, Pro tools and Da Vinci).
  • Take part in a one-month exchange at La Fémis in Paris (editing section).
Third year
Light workshop with Marianne Lamour
Shooting diploma film "Impériale" by Coline Confort
Shooting diploma film "Montana 1977" by Kimyan Flückiger (Camera Aurel Ganz)

1/3

The whole year is devoted to the making of the graduation film (free work, fiction, documentary film, experimental film, etc.).

  • Write the script for the graduation film – a short film (over 6 months).
  • Pitch the project to producers.
  • Draw up a professional production file (including budget) to be submitted to film authorities (Cinéforom, OFC, RTS, etc.).
  • Set up a film crew with professionals from each profession.
  • Monitor the production process with a director’s assistant.
  • Participate in an actor-director workshop and do castings
  • Shoot the film.
  • Edit the film in collaboration with students from la Fémis’ Editing Department.
  • Mix the film at La Fémis with students from the Mixing Department
  • Learn about film distribution (television, festivals, etc.).
  • Travel abroad to meet a filmmaker and make films on location (for example Tokyo/Kore-Eda).

Projects

This section contains a selection of emblematic or recent projects related to the disciplines taught in the Bachelor's degree.
See all projects

Semester projects

Documentary film workshop with Guillaume Brac

FILM STUDIES

Documentary film workshop with Guillaume Brac

Studio project with Guillaume Brac

The 2022 documentary workshop was lead by Guillaume Brac. In partnership with the Lausanne Sport!

Screening at the Swiss Culture Centre, Paris

FILM STUDIES

Screening at the Swiss Culture Centre, Paris

Studio project

ECAL and the Centre culturel suisse, Paris present the films made during the "Selfportrait and violence" workshop led by Mio Rau (playwright and theatre director at NTGhent Theatre) and Giacomo Bisordi (playwright and director).

Rehearsal

FILM STUDIES

Rehearsal

Studio project with Kaveh Bakhtiari

- Selected at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) 2014 - Selected at International Clermont-Ferrand Shortfilm Festival 2015 Synopsis A choir teacher, pupils of the Lyon Conservatory. Their face-to-face confrontation: a rehearsal, the second to last before the end of the year show. Commentaire Le temps d’un cours de chant, un maître tente de hisser le niveau de ses élèves vers l’audible. Entre la lutte chamanique du professeur et les corps fébriles des adolescents, un territoire inaccessible devient possible. Les souffles archaïques se font harmonie, Robert Schumann n’est alors plus une simple évocation mais une invocation par des adolescents en mutation, captifs entre deux mondes. Kaveh Bakhtiari Rehearsal on Swissfilms.ch

Being too serious

FILM STUDIES

Being too serious

Studio project with Sébastien Lifshitz

Martin has just been dumped and spends the night hanging out with David, a friend he hasn’t seen for a long time.

Happyland

FILM STUDIES

Happyland

Studio project with Denis Gheerbrant

Happyland, an amusement park in Switzerland, surrounded by mountains. A film on the people who work there, two women: one young and the other less so.

Brother and Sister

FILM STUDIES

Brother and Sister

Studio project with Sébastien Lifshitz

Ismail and his sister are driving back from the airport. The young man has just arrived in a new country, Switzerland, whilst his sister has been here for a couple of month.

I've got a power

FILM STUDIES

I've got a power

Studio project with Denis Gheerbrant

This is the testimonial of a friendship between the director and his friend Mirko, with whom he spent his childhood playing with "Playmobil"-figures in a fantasy world.

Elie

FILM STUDIES

Elie

Studio project with Sébastien Lifshitz

Jules is a young man, he is twenty one years old. His grand father is about to die. He is afraid to loose him. He decide to go and find a Rabin his grandfather used to know. During this travel, Jules mourns and grows up.

In your arms

FILM STUDIES

In your arms

Studio project with Sébastien Lifshitz

A mother and daughter, two Portuguese immigrants. An evening watching series. The atmosphere becomes suffocating.

Spare time

FILM STUDIES

Spare time

Studio project with Dominique Marchais

Two young women live together in a brothel. The camera captures their daily life in their hours away from work.

The Girls' Grave

FILM STUDIES

The Girls' Grave

Studio project with Frédéric Mermoud

Sissi and Victoria are sisters. Whereas the younger is slowly emerging from the world of childhood, the elder tries in vain to be grown up. In the room that they share, Sissi is preparing for her gymnastic compétition and Victoria has boys coming and going...

The Ambassador & me

FILM STUDIES

The Ambassador & me

Studio project with Jean-Stéphane Bron

A son, a father. The first one holds a camera; the second one holds the title ambassador. The camera trembles, the ambassador remains.

Diploma projects

Alice Denyse Matthey-Jonais – Les mouches de Beni (Direction)

FILM STUDIES

Alice Denyse Matthey-Jonais – Les mouches de Beni (Direction)

Diploma project with Valentina Novati, Stéphane Demoustier

Beni, a young woman with bipolar disorder, forms a musical friendship with her 65-year-old neighbour Gégé.

Olivia Calcaterra – The wonderful pain of the wild Broom (Direction)

FILM STUDIES

Olivia Calcaterra – The wonderful pain of the wild Broom (Direction)

Diploma project with Valentina Novati, Stéphane Demoustier

In the desert of southern Spain, a film designed to bring together animal and human emotions through the trauma of abandonment.

Yan Ciszewski – The great disappointement (Screenplay)

FILM STUDIES

Yan Ciszewski – The great disappointement (Screenplay)

Diploma project with Emmanuel Bourdieu

Two women come down from the top of a mountain, following a great disappointment.

Pierre Daendliker – Drifting Away (Photography)

FILM STUDIES

Pierre Daendliker – Drifting Away (Photography)

Diploma project with Céline Bozon

For my end-of-study work, I had to design the photography for a graduation film.

Dario Willommet – Spiders in the heart (Photography)

FILM STUDIES

Dario Willommet – Spiders in the heart (Photography)

Diploma project with Céline Bozon

My diploma project consisted in accompanying the production of a short fiction film as a cinematographer. I was in charge of the camera and the lighting on the set.

Loris Theurillat – The wonderful pain of the wild Broom (Photography)

FILM STUDIES

Loris Theurillat – The wonderful pain of the wild Broom (Photography)

Diploma project with Céline Bozon

Strongly attracted to cinematography in documentaries, I did the photography for Olivia Calcaterra’s short documentary film for her degree.

Solène Mercier – Les mouches de Beni (Photography)

FILM STUDIES

Solène Mercier – Les mouches de Beni (Photography)

Diploma project with Céline Bozon

For my degree, I did the photography of the short film Les mouches de Beni, directed by Alice-Denyse Matthey.

Marion Reymond – Drifiting away (Direction)

FILM STUDIES

Marion Reymond – Drifiting away (Direction)

Diploma project with Valentina Novati, Stéphane Demoustier

A young caregiver uses her imagination to cope with the mourning of her mother and to escape from the nursing home where she works.

Laurine Joyeux – Les mouches de Beni (Script supervisor)

FILM STUDIES

Laurine Joyeux – Les mouches de Beni (Script supervisor)

Diploma project with Julie Lupo

As a script supervisor, I worked with the director on her film, from the writing stage to the shooting.

Elias Ben Khalifa – We are the others

FILM STUDIES

Elias Ben Khalifa – We are the others

Diploma project with Gilles Marchand, Marie Monge

Karim and Adin are childhood friends. They haven't seen each other for a long time and get together for a drink to make up for lost time.

Avril Lehmann – The Heiresses

FILM STUDIES

Avril Lehmann – The Heiresses

Diploma project with Gilles Marchand, Marie Monge

Luna returns to the family home where still lives her younger sister, Diana. Diana has been living alone in this large, dilapidated house since the death of their father.

Alexandre Brulé – The new millenium

FILM STUDIES

Alexandre Brulé – The new millenium

Diploma project with Gilles Marchand, Marie Monge

On the eve of Y2K, Christine finally introduces her lover, Mina, to her parents. The evening promises to be strange.

Program

This section lists the detailed modules and courses for each semester of the programme.

Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 3 Semester 4 Semester 5 Semester 6

Theory I
6 ECTS
  • History of Art (opt.)
  • History of Photography (opt.)
  • History of Cinema
  • History of Video Games (opt.)
  • Theory Workshop
Transversal skills I
3 ECTS
  • Photography

Documentary Workshop I – Writing
4 ECTS
Documentary Workshop I – Directing
4 ECTS
Documentary Workshop I – Editing
4 ECTS
Fiction Workshop V1
2 ECTS
Fiction Workshop V2
2 ECTS
SOUND WORKSHOP FILMING
2 ECTS
Technical Initiations I
3 ECTS
Theory II
6 ECTS
  • History of Art (opt.)
  • History of Graphic Design (opt.)
  • History of Industrial Design (opt.)
  • History of Ideas (opt.)
  • Theoretical workshop
Experience stories
2 ECTS
Direction of actors
2 ECTS
Documentary Workshop II
3 ECTS
Fiction Workshop V3
4 ECTS
Fiction Workshop V4
5 ECTS
Sound Workshop Post-production
3 ECTS
Sequence Analysis I
2 ECTS
Technical Initiations II
3 ECTS
Fiction Workshop Writing
6 ECTS
Fiction Workshop Pre-production
4 ECTS
Fiction Workshop Directing
14 ECTS
Fiction Workshop Direction of actors
2 ECTS
Fiction Workshop Post-production
2 ECTS
Meetings and Masterclasses I
2 ECTS
Documentary Workshop Festival
2 ECTS
Documentary Workshop Writing
6 ECTS
Documentary Workshop Directing
14 ECTS
Thesis
4 ECTS
Meetings and Masterclasses II
2 ECTS
Sequence Analysis II
2 ECTS
Diploma – Scenario writing
18 ECTS
Diploma – Direction of actors
8 ECTS
Diploma – Pre-production
4 ECTS
Diploma – Production
7 ECTS
Diploma – Directing
23 ECTS
Find all the programme documents below

Alumni

Career Opportunities

Film director of documentaries or fiction, Director of photography, Editor, Sound mixer, Sound engineer, Scriptwriter, Producer, Teacher…

Other alumni

(BA and MA Cinéma) Fabrice Aragno, Kaveh Bakhtiari, Claude Barras, Fulvio Bernasconi, Jean-Stéphane Bron, Frédéric Choffat, Blaise Harrison, Marie-Eve Hildbrand, Nathan Hofstetter, Frédéric Mermoud, Klaudia Reynicke, Lila Ribi, Christophe M. Saber, Rafael Sommerhalder, Karine Sudan, Mathieu Urfer…

Raphael Dubach
Elie Grappe
Pauline Jeanbourquin
Robert-Jan Lacombe
Patrick Muroni
Joséphine Pittet
Malika Pellicioli

Staff

Head

Head
Paolo Moretti

Academic deputy
Rachel Noël

Coordination

Administrative deputy
Laurence Wegener

Production & distribution
Jean-Guillaume Sonnier

Post-production assistants
Jules Pourchet
Paul Pourchet

Academic assistant
Adèle Beaulieu

Professors

Lionel Baier 
François Bovier 
Pauline Gygax 
Rachel Noël 
Benoît Rossel

Visiting lecturers, masterclasses

Elsa Amiel
Darren Aronofsky 
Frédéric Baillehaiche
Jeanne Balibar
Renato Berta
Susanne Bier
Emmanuel Bourdieu
Céline Bozon
Guillaume Brac
Claire Burger
Emmanuel Carrère
Benjamin Charbit
Monia Chokri 
Joel Coen
Camille Cottagnoud 
Donatienne de Gorostarzu 
Thierry de Peretti
Stéphane Demoustier
Claire Denis
Josée Deshaies 
Laetitia Dosch
Jean Dujardin 
Annette Dutertre 
Abel Ferrara
Thierry Frémaux 
Kōji Fukada
Pauline Gaillard 
Hippolyte Girardot 
Agnès Godard 
Jean-­Luc Godard 
Yann Gonzalez 
Laurent Guido 
Adèle Haenel
Blaise Harrison 
Michel Hazanavicius 
Werner Herzog 
Agnès Jaoui
Denis Jutzeler

EVENTS

Masterclass ECAL - Céline Sciamma,24.01.2023,IKEA Auditorium, ECAL

LECTURES

Masterclass ECAL - Céline Sciamma,
24.01.2023,
IKEA Auditorium, ECAL

Invited by ECAL Cinema Department, French director and screenwriter Céline Sciamma present a Masterclass on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, moderated by Paolo Moretti, head of the Cinema department, and Valentina Novati, French producer and distributor.

ECAL AT SOLOTHURN DAYS 2023: 19 NOMINATIONS

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

ECAL AT SOLOTHURN DAYS 2023: 19 NOMINATIONS

On the occasion of the 58th Solothurn Film Festival, which takes place from January 18 to 25, 2023, ECAL Film Department presents several films by students and graduates.

ECAL Masterclass - Albert Serra,20.12.2022, 17:00,Leenaards Auditorium, ECAL

LECTURES

ECAL Masterclass - Albert Serra,
20.12.2022, 17:00,
Leenaards Auditorium, ECAL

Invited by ECAL Cinema Department, the Catalan director Albert Serra will present a Masterclass on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, moderated by Paolo Moretti, head of Bachelor and Master Cinema.

Masterclass and screening - Tatiana Huezo,28.11.2022,ECAL, Renens

LECTURES

Masterclass and screening - Tatiana Huezo,
28.11.2022,
ECAL, Renens

Invited by ECAL Cinema Department, Mexican director Tatiana Huezo presents a Masterclass on Monday, November 28, 2022, followed by the screening of her first feature film Noche de fuego and a Q&A.

LECTURES

ECAL Instagram Live: Jean-Luc Godard,
07.04.2020

ECAL Instagram Live: Jean-Luc Godard, fillmmaker, Rolle

Masterclass ECAL - Paul Hirsch,03.10.2022,ECAL, Renens

LECTURES

Masterclass ECAL - Paul Hirsch,
03.10.2022,
ECAL, Renens

On the occasion of the release of his book Il y a bien longtemps, dans une salle de montage lointaine, très lointaine..., Paul Hirsch presents at ECAL his autobiography. A meeting led by Benoît Rossel (film director and teacher at ECAL) and Mykyta Kryvosheiev (film editor and Master Cinema ECAL/HEAD graduate).

ECAL graduates at Locarno Film Festival,03–13.08.2022,Locarno

OTHER

ECAL graduates at Locarno Film Festival,
03–13.08.2022,
Locarno

On the occasion of the 75th edition of the Locarno Film Festival from 3 to 13 August 2022, many graduates of ECAL/Universityof Art and Design Lausanne will present movies:

LECTURES

ECAL at Visions du Réel: Marco Bellocchio masterclass + Films,
07–17.04.2022,
Visions du Réel, Nyon

ECAL Masterclass at Visions du Réel: Marco Bellocchio – Director, screenwriter, producer, Rome.

Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne 2022,12–20.03.2022,ECAL and Online

LECTURES

Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne 2022,
12–20.03.2022,
ECAL and Online

On the occasion of the 5th edition of the Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne, an event initiated by the Swiss actor and director Vincent Perez, ECAL is hosting a series of online masterclasses by leading figures in the film industry.

Special screening of "Donbass" by Sergei Loznitsa,11.03.2022

OTHER

Special screening of "Donbass" by Sergei Loznitsa,
11.03.2022

The Swiss Cinematheque and the ECAL Film Department invite you to an evening of support for the Ukrainian people on Friday 11th March at 7pm at ECAL.

LECTURES

ECAL Masterclass: Nabil Ayouch,
09.03.2022, 17:30,
IKEA Auditorium, ECAL

ECAL Masterclass: Nabil Ayouch – Director, Sarcelles/Casablanca

ECAL at Solothurn Days 2022,19–26.01.2022,Solothurn

PROJECTION

ECAL at Solothurn Days 2022,
19–26.01.2022,
Solothurn

On the occasion of the Solothurn Days from 19 to 26 January 2022, ECAL Cinema Department presents several Bachelor diploma films by students.

LECTURES

ECAL Masterclass: Mathieu Amalric,
18.01.2022,
IKEA Auditorium, ECAL

ECAL Masterclass: Mathieu Amalric, actor, director, Paris

ECAL Diplomas 2021: Bachelor films screening,03.11.2021,Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne

OTHER

ECAL Diplomas 2021: Bachelor films screening,
03.11.2021,
Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne

Screening of the 2021 graduation films of the ECAL's Bachelor's degree in Cinema on Wednesday 3 November 2021 at Cinémathèque suisse in the presence of the students.

LECTURES

ECAL Masterclass: Abel Ferrara,
05.10.2021,
IKEA Auditorium, ECAL

ECAL Masterclass: Abel Ferrara – Filmmaker and screenwriter, Rome

Screening at the Swiss Culture Centre, Paris,12.07.2021

PROJECTION

Screening at the Swiss Culture Centre, Paris,
12.07.2021

Screening of ECAL films at the Swiss Culture Centre, Paris. ECAL and the Centre culturel suisse. Paris present the films made during the "Selfportrait and violence" workshop led by Mio Rau (playwright and theatre director at NTGhent Theatre) and Giacomo Bisordi (playwright and director).

LECTURES

ECAL Masterclass: Gisèle Vienne,
11.05.2021,
Online, Zoom

ECAL Masterclass: Gisèle Vienne – Artist, choregrapher and theater director, Les Lilas

Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne 2021,27.04–01.05.2021

LECTURES

Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne 2021,
27.04–01.05.2021

A l’occasion de la 4e édition des Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne, l’ECAL propose une série de masterclasses en ligne de personnalités du Cinéma.