Freelance Film Editor and Script Consultant, Cologne (Germany)
She studied theatre, cinema and television, German Literature and Philosophy in Munich and Cologne, where she earned her Master of Arts degree. A freelance film editor and script consultant since 1991. Visiting professor at the Filmuniversität in Babelsberg, where she teaches editing, 2014-present. She also teaches at ZeLIG, the Baltic Film and Media School, and the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. She is a member of the European and German Film Academies; VeDRA, the Screenwriters’ Association for Cinema and Television; and BFS, the German Association of Film Editors. She is a founding member of LaDOC, a network of documentary filmmakers. She lives and works in Cologne and Berlin.
Documentary director, AMREF Rome (IT)
As a PhD fish biologist he worked as researcher at the University of Rome. In 1996 he co-produced Emanuele Crialese’s first feature film, an experience that made him drop a promising university career to jump into the uncertainty of filmaking. Since then, he’s been working in directing social documentaries (among others, the feature length 'Black Pinocchio' and 'An Italian School'). Starting from 2000 he collaborates with AMREF (the African Medical and Research Foundation) where he promoted, along with Giulio Cederna and John Muiruri, a participatory video (PV) training within the AMREF street children rehabilitation project in Nairobi, Kenya. Here he directed several awarded participatory films for national and international TVs (such as TV Slum, African Spelling Book, Millennium News, The Turkish Glance). Besides Nairobi, he has been running PV workshops in Italy, France, Switzerland and Morocco.
Director + Broadcast Development, Northern Light Productions, Bosten (USA)
Susan Gray is an American documentary filmmaker whose films have aired on PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, Arte, Channel 5, NHK, Canal Plus, Sundance, Showtime, and television channels worldwide, as well as theaters and festivals. She has a masters degree from the Columbia School of Journalism and from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her films have won the best of Input, the Prix Europa, and (controllare) and nominated for the Adolph Grimme Award. She is a dual American/Italian citizen and teaches documentary writing in Italy and the United States.
Engineer and Photographer, Cologne (Germany)
Achim DUnker works as a cameraman, director and film editor, and is the owner of the Zwo-Filmproduktion production company. He has written extensively on lighting and camera technique. His books include 'Die chinesische Sonne scheint immer von unten' (Lighting in Cinema, 6th editione) and 'eins zu hundert' (a photography manual, 2nd edition). Teaches seminars and workshop on cinema and lighting.
Filmmaker, Festival consultant, Leipzig (DE)
Claas Danielsen, born in April 1966 in Hamburg, is a filmmaker, producer, lecturer and festival director living in Leipzig/Germany. He made seven documentaries of which several did an extensive festival tour, won international awards and were sold to European broadcasters. In 1997 he became assistant to the professor in the documentary department of the Munich Film Academy where he built up a new chair for TV-journalism. In 1999 Danielsen became Head of Studies of Discovery Campus (nowadays Documentary Campus). From 2004 till the end of 2014 he was Artistic and Managing Director of DOK Leipzig, the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films, which he developed into one of the leading international doc festivals. Claas Danielsen was board member of the German documentary filmmakers’ association AG DOK and the European Documentary Network EDN for several years. He is a member of and an advisor to the European Film Academy, board member of the Balkan Documentary Center and has served on many international festival juries and the selection committees of different German film and media funds.
The call for admission to the 2025-2028 training cycle is open!
The admission is divided in two parts: the online one, which requires test materials and documentation, has a deadline set on January, 31. 2025, 23:59h (CET).
The tuition fees for the study cycle 2019-2022 are 1,000 euros per study year. The fee is to be paid after the admission exam. The fee is non-refundable.
Upon completion of the final exam, students are awarded a Professional Training diploma, issued by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and recognised at the European level, in one of three areas of specialization, and receive certification as
Documentary filmmaker in the audiovisual industry with skills in Directing/Project Development;
Documentary filmmaker in the audiovisual industry with skills in Editing/Postproduction;
Documentary filmmaker in the audiovisual industry with skills in Photography/Lighting.
Graduates possess the skills needed for placement on the job market, which they will apply, autonomously and with responsibility, to specific roles in the documentary filmmaking industry. Graduates are assigned EQF (European Qualification Framework) Level 5 certification. Graduates also possess skills outside their own specific areas of interest, which may be applied to different roles and situations in the production process of films and other audiovisual products. Graduates also possess skills outside their own specific areas of interest, which may be applied to different roles and situations in the production process of films and other audiovisual products.
ZeLIG is local, but with an international network of contacts, which facilitate the access to the professional world.
ZeLIG is an active member of The International Association of Film and Television Schools CILECT and its European grouping GEECT. It is also member of the Italian and German Documentary Professional associations Doc/it and AG DOK, and the European Documentary Network EDN.
The support and investment of the South Tyrolean Department of Economic has steadily increased since 2010. Thanks to the subsidies offered by IDM (Innovation, Development and Marketing Südtirol), many productions shoot their films in South Tyrol. In order to obtain production funding, there has to be an economic territorial effect of 150% (Südtirol Effekt) in reference to the corresponding funding amount. ZeLIG graduates are able to provide this "Südtirol Effekt".
Indipendent filmmaker, Toronto (CAN)
Katerina Cizek is a two-time Emmy-award winning, internationally recognized director and writer in the digital space. Her media work has documented the Digital Revolution, and has itself become part of the movement. She has built collaborations with a diverse range of community, academic and media partners to co-create media. She works across many media platforms: digital media, broadcasting (radio and television), print and live presentations/installations. She is the director of an award-winning digital documentary media project at the National Film Board of Canada, called HIGHRISE. She realized the acclaimed NFB Filmmaker-in-Residence program, winner of a Webby Award, among others. Her media projects have instigated criminal investigations, changed UN policies, and have screened as evidence at an International Criminal Tribunal. Cizek's Films include the Hampton-Prize winner 'Seeing is Believing': Handicams, Human Rights and the News (co-directed with Peter Wintonick), and 'The Dead are Alive: Eyewitness in Rwanda', the First global television documentary (1995) made about the genocide. Her work has been seen by millions around the world, through TV broadcasts and publishing on the web. She has travelled the world with her projects, teaching and mentoring with her innovative approaches to the documentary genre, community-based collaborative practices and digital media. She is currently a Visiting Artist at MIT, completing her Final iteration of the NFB HIGHRISE documentary.
Commissioning Editor ZDF/ARTE; Head of Studies ESoDoc, Mainz (DE)
Sabine Bubeck-Paaz is commissioning editor at German public broadcaster ZDF for various documentary slots on ARTE, the European Culture Channel. At ZDF/ARTE, where she is deputy head of the department 'Thema', they are coproducing one offs, Theme Evenings, documentary series and cross-media projects. The topics Sabine Bubeck-Paaz is handling, range from culture, science and history to current affaires, human interest and sociopolitical issues. Her list of projects include award winning films like 'The Act of Killing' and 'The Look of Silence', 'Drone', 'netwars', 'Claude Lanzmann – Spectres of the Shoah', 'Ingrid Bergman in her own words'… Sabine Bubeck-Paaz started her career as a print journalist. As a tutor for documentary projects, she has been participating since many years in international pitching and training workshops. Since 2015, Sabine Bubeck-Paaz is, next to her job at ZDF/ARTE, also Head of Studies of ESoDoc - European Social Documentary, the training initiative for cross-thinkers and media professionals, who want to increase impact and outreach of their documentary projects.
Director of Photography (A. I. C.), Rome (Italy)
Born in 1961 in Tunisia. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, University of Tunis. Studied photography at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome, 1988-1990. Works as Director of Photography, and teaches at several film schools.
Films:
'Esercito più piccolo del Mondo' (2015) and 'Sul Vulcano' (2014), directed by Gianfranco Pannone; 'Kaspar Hauser' (2012) and 'Beket' (2008), directed by Davide Manuli; 'Palestine Stereo' (2013) and 'Laila's Birthday' directed by Rashid Masharawi, selected for the San Sebastian Film Festival (2008); 'Riparo' (2008), directed by Marco Simon Piccioni; 'Ce n'è per tutti' (2009) and 'Gas' (2005), directed by Luciano Melchionna; 'Pouppées d'Argile' (2002), directed by Nouri Bouzid; 'Latina - Littoria' (2001), directed by Gianfranco Pannone, winner: Best Documentary at the Torino Film Festival; 'Crudo' (2000), directed by Irma Immacolata Palazzo, nominated for a European Golden Globe Award; 'L'America a Roma' (1998), directed by Gianfranco Pannone, selected for the Locarno International Film Festival; 'Giro di luna tra terra e mare' (1997), directed by Giuseppe Gaudino, selected for the Venice Film Festival.
Director of Photography, Berlin (Germany)
Born in Erfurt in 1953. Following military service, studied camera at East Germany’s Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen, and with Deutsche Film AG. Left East Germany with his wife and daughter in 1982 for India, and the following year began work as a freelance cameraman in West Berlin. Further training led to work in documentary and docufiction. Teaches at film schools in Germany, Italy and Myanmar, where his focus is on fine-tuned observation of reality.
Pitching Expert, Erbach (DE)
Born 1958, since 1995 she works as communication skill trainer for production companies, producers and writers. For renowned national and international universities, and for film schools and academies, she teaches 'The Art Of Pitching'. In her intensive workshop sessions she enables producers, writers, directors to hone, fine- and time-tune their projects prior to pitching as well as gain insight into their own professional practice. Her book 'Pitch It' has been published in 2015 for the third edition. Her motto is: say, what you think - do, what you say, - be, what you do. Her focus is on project presentation, proposal development, dramaturgical doctoring, consultancy and personal coaching. Additionally she helps in project development through dramaturgical advice. Projects include all feature fiction, documentary, animation and children formats. Furthermore she offers communication skills and negotiation training as well as personal coaching, also for creative people in the fields of “Arts & Culture”.
Professor, editor, Certified Instructor Avid (ACI), Munich (DE)
After completing his degrees on Magister Artium (M.A.) in Sciences of Communication, Journalism, History of Art and Dramatics at the University of Munich, Bodo Klemz became manager of film and video production and postproduction for a famous advertising agency of political communications and a well-known bavarian media company for nearly 20 years. In 1994 he established his own Munich-domiciled certified training center for digital nonlinear film&video editing, named interBasics. Bodo Klemz was among the first ones of german editors who received the Avid Certified Instructor (ACI) by Avid Technology, Inc. Since 1994, he was assistant lecturer for digital film&video editing, montage, composition and supervisor at Munich University for Television and Film (HFF), Bavarian Academy for Television (BAF) and ZeLIG. Bodo Klemz is member of the Bavarian Association of Journalists (BJV) since 1980. www.bbklemz.de
Professor of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture, Berlin (Germany)
Graduated from the University of Utrecht, and published her dissertation 'Aller Anfang' on screenwriting and cognitive dramaturgy. Professor of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture at the University of Bonn. Was an assistant for the research project entitled 'The History of Documentary Films in Germany, 1945-2005'. Visiting professor of Film and Media Theory at the University of Vienna, 2011-2012. Co-edited (along with Christine N. Brinckmann and Ludger Kaczmarek) 'Motive des Films. Ein kasuistischer Fischzug' (2012). A member of the editorial staff of the magazine 'Montage AV'. She lives in Berlin.
"ESoDoc is a creative system, deeply rooted in human values and taking in the freshest air of digital media innovation. It is fascinating to see how workshop participants and tutors are equally driven by their curiosity to develop together new ways of storytelling for participatory documentary projects of all different forms and for all platforms … always wishing them to evolve as tools for social change and better understanding between people."
“Soon I celebrate 20 years of teaching at ZeLIG! What can I say about the virtues and reputation of this truly European school for documentary-makers in Bolzano, Alto Adige-Südtirol? It was founded more than a quarter century ago. It’s professional, solid, successful, constructively visionary. ZeLIG is known and respected for its international approach to learning. Graduates receive certification from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. The excellent teaching staff is made up of professionals from all over the world. When it comes to film schools, ZeLIG is a sure thing. Too bad there was no ZeLIG when I was beginning my own professional studies. I surely would have applied.”
Independent - committed - creative
ZeLIG’s three-year program is designed for people interested in all forms of documentary cinema – the entire spectrum of the visual and sound experience. ZeLIG seeks people with passion and talent, who are strongly motivated to make a career out of these gifts.
The program is geared toward people who look at the world with interest and creativity; people who are flexible, who freely express themselves and are willing to take chances. People who can adapt to different roles to make their contribution to an audiovisual production.
Applicants must be hungry to learn, and develop their own creativity and the ability to recognize creativity in others; they must seek to acquire knowledge and technical skills, improve social skills and focus on working in groups.
Applicants must be committed to work in a responsible and cocreative way, and be dedicated to learning and growing together – both as professionals and as people.
3,300 hours of training – of which 3,000 in classes and 300 in work experiences, full-time and with compulsory attendance
The study course 2019-2022 starts on 4. November 2019 and ends on 1 July 2022.
The study course is structured into introductory, intermediate and specialising modules with classroom teaching, hands-on experience and group work. We strongly encourage active involvement in co-creative work. The students have access to the premises and the equipment outside of study hours in order to enable them to work independently on their projects.
First year
During the first year, the emphasis is on the basic elements of analysing and understanding audio-visual language and the general principles of film production. The students are also taught the basics of how to plan and make a documentary. The general introduction is followed by intermediate courses on the contents in phase two, ending with a practical exercise: short documentary films, produced in a group and independently developed.
The first year is also aimed at identifying motivations and talents of the individual students for one of the three specialisations (Directing/Project development, Photography/Light, Editing/Post-production). The exam at the end of the year assesses the general level of learning, followed by assigning a specialisation.
Second Year
The second year is divided into “vertical modules”, which are different for each major, and focus on developing the skills in each of the three specializations offered; and “horizontal modules”, which involve all students, regardless of their majors. As in the first year, seminars that focus on theory are accompanied by hands-on activities, including the making of a short documentary, in which each student participates in a group initiative based on his or her area of specialization.
Upon conclusion of the second year, students take part in internship programs based on their majors.
Third year
In the third year the students produce a professional documentary film of medium or feature film length. This involves research, a written abstract with storyline, visual and editing concept, a pitch with two-pager and teaser, a project dossier, pre-production, budgeting, production, post-production and delivery. During the production the students work according to their specialisations and as a team on all other aspects.
Diploma exam
The third year concludes with the diploma exam, assessing the didactical results at the end of the triennium.
Internships
During the training the students take part in work experiences between the first and second and/or the second and third study year, in line with their specialisation.
The aims of training are to provide students with the basic technical skills and know-how to be able to work as professionals upon graduation, in various areas of audiovisual production, and specialized skills and know-how in the three majors offered: Direction/Project Development, Photography/Lights and Editing/Post-Production.
Students who graduate with a major in Direction/Project Development will demonstrate a capacity for working autonomously and assuming responsibility, as they contribute creatively to the conception, research and writing of the documentary. They will also have the skills and know-how to create dossiers for film projects, and pitch those projects. From there, they direct the making of films, in terms of narrative and artistic development, and technical direction of the other professionals involved.
Students who graduate with a major in Photography/Lights will demonstrate a capacity for translating the idea and subject of a documentary into images. They will also have the skills and know-how to work with directors, or autonomously, as they contribute to the conception of visual ideas for films. They are responsible for the photography of documentaries, in line with the subject and story, from filming phases to post-production.
Students who graduate with a major in Editing/Post-Production will demonstrate a capacity for working autonomously and assuming responsibility in the construction of the documentary’s story line through the creative use of images and sounds recorded during filming. They are responsible for the editing phase in its entirety; along with directors, they are in charge of the post-production process, and the realization of documentary films based on the techniques agreed upon with the production staffs.
Practise-oriented – open-minded – multilingual
ZeLIG training is well suited to the labour market.
The teachers bring different cultures, styles, perspectives and work procedures to ZeLIG and are all highly qualified professionals. Coming from all over the world, they hold classes of one or several weeks in Bolzano during which they pass on the latest developments in the media.
Technical and content know how is taught with a practical orientation. Students are introduced to different narrative forms and stylistic means. They are supported and guided in their quest for their very personal paths.
At ZeLIG the spoken languages are German, Italian and English. Student, teachers and staff are free to express themselves in any which one of these language and which is best suited to transmitting their ideas. This creative approach to linguistic variety opens the gates to the international markets and to future opportunities.
