The 2026 documentary film workshop for 2nd year students was lead by french director and visual anthropologist Verena Paravel.
Studio project (2026) by Noé Bregnard, Victor Durand Matinella, Nolan Grando, Lou Haenggi, Samuel Harari, Hana Magimel, Eva Rust, Mileny Viera de Andrade, Zélia Zanone
Head of workshop: Verena Paravel
"For this experimental documentary workshop, the students took a specific location as their starting point: the Pointe de la Jonction in Geneva, where the Rhône and the Arve meet. At once natural, urban, industrial and working-class, this site brings together a wide variety of people, activities and rhythms: bathers, anglers, walkers, cleaners, graffiti artists, pontoon operators, animals, rubbish, currents and traces of life.
The project was built around a focus on this unique ecosystem, which is soon to undergo a transformation. The aim was not merely to document a space, but to capture the balances, tensions, forms of coexistence and everyday uses that make it up.
The workshop was also built on a strong collective experience. The nine students had to develop a shared perspective from their different sensibilities, agreeing to move beyond individual thinking in order to construct a shared form. This diversity became one of the driving forces behind the film: multiplying the approaches, viewpoints and ways of engaging with the location.
The documentary work developed through physical and sensory immersion. The students explored different ways of filming and recording: underwater, at ground level, from a distance on a bridge, and as close as possible to bodies, movements, sounds and materials. The images and sound do not merely seek to describe La Jonction, but to convey its vibrations, flows, contrasts and invisible forces.
Through this film, the aim is to bear witness to a space of coexistence and encounter, where humans, animals, plants, infrastructure and natural elements exist in a fragile balance. The project thus invites us to look closely at what often escapes our notice: the ordinary presences, the informal uses, the marginal traces, and the discreet connections that make a place unique."
Paolo Moretti, head of Cinema department
• Noé Bregnard , Victor Durand Matinella , Nolan Grando , Lou Haenggi , Samuel Harari , Hana Magimel , Eva Rust , Mileny Viera de Andrade , Zélia Zanone , Jonxion, 42'
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BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Rineke Dijkstra
What is good portrait? What technique do you choose? What kind of light do you use? Daylight or flash? What location or backdrop do you choose for? How do you choose your subject? How do you approach someone you don’t know? In this workshop, the students have explored what makes a good portrait and which tools you can use to create one.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
by Léa Corin
Neither Fully Free, Nor Fully Captive explores the theme of day parole. Through a video installation and a book, this project archives and documents the activities of an association dedicated to reintegration. The projection, conceived as an emotional archive, combines experimental videos with sound testimonies from individuals on day parole supported by the association, revealing the complexity of this transition. The book, as a complement, adopts a documentary and sensitive approach, blending stories and visual creations. This project transcends graphic form to foster social dialogue and shed light on an essential yet often overlooked issue.
BA FILM STUDIES
with Marie-Eve Hildbrand
The 2026 documentary film workshop for 1st year students was lead by swiss director Marie-Eve Hildbrand.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
by Lidia Molina González
It all started with taking a break. A pause. A moment alone in a shared space: quiet, ordinary, a little strange. Toilets might not be the first place you’d look for big ideas, but that’s why we chose them. Toilet Break uses this overlooked space to explore how we live together, take space, and connect. This first issue is about in-betweens: between public and private, inside and outside. It gathers voices from Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, across generations and practices. A place where ideas circulate freely, where serious things can be said with a wink. A collective and personal space to test new editorial forms, listen more carefully, and believe in detours as a way forward. To take, quite literally, a moment to reflect and sit with things.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Natacha Lesueur
“What is clearly conceived can be clearly expressed, and the words to say it come easily.” Nicholas Boileau, *L’art poétique*. As students embark on their final year of study at ECAL, with their interests and methods taking shape, this final project offers an opportunity to challenge their own rules, established practices and influences, to refuse to settle for the status quo and to take risks.