What is IFA?
The International Filmmaking Academy IFA from Bologna, Italy is a center of excellence for the best emerging film auteurs and young film professionals selected from over the world.
Every year, the IFA invites to Bologna an authoritative and renowned film author to lead a group of emerging talents -directors, DOPs, assistant directors and assistant producers – selected by Film Institutes, Film Commissions and Film Schools from around the world or independent professionals.
IFA previous editions have had esteemed Master Teachers such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Abbas Kiarostami, Béla Tarr, Jane Campion and John Landis. Palm d’Or winning director Ruben Östlund has joined the IFA Board of Directors as IFA Honorary President following his experience as IFA Master Teacher 2023.
The IFA Masterclass in Film Directing aims to assist world’s filmmakers in recognizing and establishing their authorial identity in order to shape the next generations of film authors.
Master
Teacher
1
Emerging
Talents
28
Countries
28
Days
14
Short
Films
7
Film
Location
7
Master
Teacher
1
Emerging
Talents
28
Countries
28
Days
14
Short
Films
7
Film
Location
7
Learn from the Masters of Contemporary Cinema
The selected group of talented filmmakers have the unique opportunity to make their own short movie in Italy, under the guidance of one of the most influential film authors on the world scene in some of the most significant locations in the city of Bologna.
IFA takes care of the talent of each filmmaker, in a safe space of freedom and respect for individual cultures. We proudly support the opportunity to create a lifelong network with fellow filmmakers around the globe.
How would you do that?
The Master Teacher shares his/ her experience and his/her personal approach to cinema, acting as a mentor and helping the personal and artistic growth of the future generation of national and international film authors, through the maturation of their own authorial vision.
The Master Teacher accompanies filmmakers through the entire process – from script to final editing – in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. The short films are screened in a Theater on the last day of the Masterclass with the IFA participants and the IFA Master Teacher feedback.
IFA combines international educational seminars with local production. The talents involved shoot a short movie in Bologna and have access to a daily one-to-one relationship with the Master Teacher and with the fellow filmmakers from all around the world.
WHERE IS THE ACADEMY?
The IFA Masterclass in Film Directing takes place in the breathtaking frame of Bologna, a vibrant city of art and wonderful cuisine, and during Il Cinema Ritrovato, a film festival by Cineteca di Bologna, a real paradise for cinephiles and one of the most important events in the world for film restoration.
The selected filmmakers are involved in the festival screenings, held open air in the beautiful Piazza Maggiore during summer nights. Bologna with its rich history is well known as the home of the oldest university in the western world since 1088.
