Athens Summer School in Ethnographic Filmmaking | July 1st – 21st, 2021
The Ethnofest – Athens Ethnographic Film Festival and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) organise the intensive “Athens Summer School in Ethnographic Filmmaking”. Τhe summer school has been running since 2015, developing an expertise that has been highly appreciated by all participants. Visual anthropology is becoming an almost indispensable discipline for anyone considering ethnographic research, visual analysis, studies of material culture, or critical engagements with cinema, photography and other forms of cultural display.
The aim of the school is to give students the experience of filming in a highly diverse and multi-layered urban setting and obtain an overview of current debates and research topics in visual anthropology and ethnography. We focus on visual theory and the practical use of audio-visual means in the ethnographic process. The seminars will provide students with a general framework of visual anthropology/ethnographic theory and methodology, as well as introduce them to contemporary approaches to field research in an urban setting. From 1 July until 21 July 2021, the seminars and the group meetings will run daily at Fårö Creative Learning which is located at the center of Athens and will combine field research in selected areas and locations of the city.
Students will be learning how to use audio-visual ethnographic methods in in a rich, fascinating and contested urban landscape and will be producing in groups short ethnographic films, a selection of which will be presented in the special section called “Initiations” at the Ethnofest – Athens Ethnographic Film Festival. The course is available to enthusiastic students from the last year of the BA, Master and first year PhD.
Organizing Committee:
Prof. Mattijs van de Port (UvA/VU)
Dr. Konstantinos Aivaliotis (Ethnofest)
Dr. Christos Varvantakis (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Participation – application
Students can apply, by using the until the 10th of May 2021. Successful applicants will be notified by the 17th of May. The number of participating students is limited (max. 15 students), so we encourage early registration. Selecting criteria will apply.
Costs and subsidies
The total cost of the course is 500€ for all Greek students, 800€ for all E.U. students (UK included). Oversees (non-EU) fees are 1500€. Students are expected to cover their airplane tickets from their country of origin to Athens and back, their accommodation costs and their breakfast, lunch and dinner costs. Upon confirmation of the participants, the selected students will be put in touch altogether to examine the prospect of sharing accommodation.
Important information for candidates applying to the Athens Summer School in Ethnographic Filmmaking to take note of as regards the implications of COVID-19 on the applications and pursuit of the programme.
The implementation of the Summer School is currently impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the evolution of the pandemic remains uncertain, so is our ability to ensure that the programme will be carried out as planned. The summer school requires the physical presence of students and cannot be done online. It also presupposes the ability to walk around freely (masked if necessary), without curfews and lock-downs. We are currently optimistic about the possibilities, but we will obviously have to “wait and see’” where things are going, pandemic-wise, and whether these conditions can be met. All decisions will be in accordance with the EU and governmental restrictions and instructions to maximise safety for the personnel and for the participants.
Further announcements will follow the end of the selection procedure around mid May.
For more information regarding the course, contact: [email protected] and you can download the call for applications in pdf format here.