The Department of Film at the HFBK stands in the tradition of artistic auteur films, and seeks to train innovative filmmakers to take an independent approach to the development of their craft. In focusing on collaborative and experimental working practices, we encourage our students to take an independent and free-spirited approach to all facets of cinematic communication and interaction.

Working on the basis of a thorough grounding in the technical skills of filmmaking, the degree course maintains an inspiring space in which to test film language conventions, conduct developmental film experiments with a long-term impact and discuss the artistic, economic and political role of film in media realities. Students develop their skills by working on an artistic development project, and benefit from teacher feedback at all stages from idea to realization given in individual and group tutorials.

The degree course provides its students with the opportunity to experiment with analogue and digital film techniques and evaluate the project-appropriate use of existing techniques and approaches also in terms of sustainability. In completing individual and group film projects, they gain a grounding in the development of cinematic concepts and their artistic implementation. Student projects can involve both fictional and non-fictional films, as long as they seek to develop artistic authorship.

Students on the degree course also take seminars in film history and theory. Developing an overview of the development of the medium, they reflect on the changing articulation forms of film, especially in relation to time-related discourses. Workshop sessions enable our students to develop their technical film-making skills and realize their artistic development project. The interdisciplinary nature of the degree course provides students with the opportunity to engage with related disciplines, thereby locating their own artistic endeavours within a broader framework.

The HFBK also maintains a number of international exchange programmes and project cooperation agreements with various institutions throughout the world, which afford our students the opportunity to refine the insights gained into their chosen discipline by engaging with other cultural contexts.

Participation in the HFBK annual and graduate exhibitions and in a range of other contexts – including presentations of their films in the HFBK university cinema and public cinemas, national and international film festivals, television and a range of digital platforms – enables students to gather experience in the communication and presentation of artistic works and introduces them to the institutional and social dynamics of this practice.

The Master’s degree course taught in the Department of Film stands in the tradition of artistic auteur films, and seeks to train filmmakers in the individual or collective production of independent film projects.

The course seeks to extend and develop a Bachelor’s-level grounding in the technical, theoretical and artistic skills of filmmaking through the realization of supervised film projects. This approach is supplemented by a focus on individual development and teaching in film theory and the history, present and future of film.

The degree course enables its students to reflect on the methods of cinematic presentation in all areas and draws all world cinematographies. This international approach is supported by the wide range of international exchange programmes maintained by the HFBK which provide students with the opportunity to gather intercultural experience. Project work is supported by seminars in film theory.

The course culminates in the presentation of the students’ films at prestigious events such as the HFBK annual and graduate exhibitions and in a range of other contexts including the HFBK university cinema and public cinemas, national and international film festivals, television and a range of digital platforms.