The admissions period begins at Elías Querejeta Film School for the 2021-2022 academic year

The school reiterates its commitment to a face-to-face teaching model which, during the first two modules of the course currently under way, accounted for 81% out of the 96% of the syllabus covered

The admissions period for the 2021-2022 academic year at Elías Querejeta Film School will open on Monday, 1 February. This fourth call for applications will not be carried out in two phases as in previous years. Rather, a single nine-week period will be established, concluding on the 31 March.

Created and funded by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council and formally part of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Elías Querejeta Film School offers an educational experience comprising three postgraduate courses (Film Preservation Studies, Film Curating Studies and Filmmaking Studies), which stem from the specialist knowledge areas of the three institutions involved in its running: the Basque Film Archive, the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture and the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The Film Preservation Studies course aims to train specialists in identifying, classifying, restoring and conserving film and audiovisual heritage, envisaging this space also as a field for artistic creation. For its part, the Film Curating Studies course focuses on the conceptualisation, management, development and dissemination of all kinds of programmes, publications, interventions and exhibitions centred around film and the audiovisual arts. Finally, the Filmmaking Studies course seeks to provide all those interested in making films and artistic audiovisual works with the theoretical and methodological training they require, as well as affording them the opportunity to engage in practical exploration. The school also has an active Research Department which aims to foster exploration, critical reflection and innovation.

The EQZE syllabus is designed for students with or in the process of earning a university degree (undergraduate degree), or those who have graduated from film school. Under exceptional circumstances, the school will consider accepting candidates who, while not meeting the aforementioned criteria, can nevertheless provide proof of sufficient experience in the world of film. 

Applicants must enrol through the school's website. Applications will be assessed by the Admissions Board and the school's Academic Management Team, who will begin the selection process at the same time as the admissions period (1 February). This means that available places on the course may be filled prior to the end of said period (31 March).

The availability of places is limited to a maximum of 15 students per specialty up to a total of 45 places. As last year, the tuition fee is 3,900 euros, including administrative and management costs, insurance, and university fees. The freezing of the cost of tuition and fees is aimed at facilitating access to the center for those students who are suffering the economic consequences of the health crisis.

The 2021-2022 Academic Year will commence at the EQZE on 13 September and will encompass 56 weeks of face-to-face teaching, divided into six modules, each lasting between five and seven weeks. The aim of this approach and the cross-cutting nature of its three itineraries is for students to acquire as broad and comprehensive a vision as possible, to enable them to enter dialogue with the three tenses of film: the past (research and conservation), the present (curation and programming) and the future (filmmaking).

Evolution of the 2020-2021 academic year

The 2020-2021 academic year began on 14 September last year, and at all times, activities have followed the updated guidelines set out in the prevention and health plan, with a dual teaching format encompassing both face-to-face and online classes. The aim is to protect the community while at the same time ensuring its cohesion, and to preserve the school's philosophy amid the complex situation generated by the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The dual syllabus is based on two fundamental principles: the temporary combination of online and face-to-face teaching, and the gradual incorporation and customised tutoring of students who were unable to be physically present at the school from the start of the course.

While it is still too soon to assess the progress of the third model, which began on 11 January and is scheduled to conclude on 21 February, 94% of the core and optional subjects taught in the first two modules (and hence 94% the 2020-2021 syllabus taught so far) has been successfully completed. 81% of classes were taught face-to-face in either the school facilities or Tabakalera, 13% were adapted to an online format and only 6% (2 subjects out of a total of 33) had to be cancelled or postponed due to the impossibility of teaching them in a non-face-to-face manner.

The final part of the 2019-2020 academic year and the presentation of the graduation projects by students from the second intake year (which coincided with the end of the second module for students from the third intake year, in December) were also carried out as normal. In total, 44 graduation projects were presented to an assessment panel comprising almost 40 professionals.