Documentary Filmmaking

Program Overview

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Documentary Filmmaking Program

Overview

The Documentary Film Program at Prague Film School aims to create independent documentary filmmakers. Through intensive practical and theoretical work, each student learns how to adapt the narrative tools of drama to tell truthful stories about the real world that simultaneously entertain, educate, and inspire audiences.

What Makes Prague Film School Special?

Praxis-Oriented

Students hit the ground running, shooting documentary projects from week one and then throughout the semester and year on a weekly basis. Each documentary student will shoot around 8 documentary projects per year.

Skills-Oriented

Students completing the program are guaranteed to have acquired skills in working with Avid Media Composer editing software, DaVinci color correction, ProTools sound design, and After Effects special effects programs. They will know how to operate the Black Magic Pocket, Sony 4K HDCam, Red Epic Dragon, and Arri Alexa cameras. They will be proficient in recording with portable mixers, directional, shotgun, omni, and wireless microphones, and knowledgeable of how to light using a wide range of lights, from 100 W Dedolights to 4K HMIs.

Knowledge-Oriented

The program instructs the history and theory of documentary, involving students in viewing a substantial number of documentary films weekly. Production-based but academically rigorous, Prague Film School programs are approved for university credit by many top-tier colleges.

Creates the Self-Sufficient and Versatile Filmmaker

Students graduating from the course will have the technical skills to fulfill all key positions on a film set and be able to single-handedly write, produce, and edit their own works.

Stories Available

Living in Prague, a city with a tumultuous past, students have access to a wealth of local historical, social, and cultural subjects.

Size

The Prague Film School Documentary Filmmaking Program offers the additional advantage of being a boutique course – run with a small and selective group of students paired up with top academics and documentary professionals.

Intensive

The type of student who chooses Prague Film School comes to us because he or she has essentially only one year in terms of time or financial resources to cross from where he or she is in life at the moment into the world of professional filmmaking. We then have only one year to bring these students to a level of competence where they can operate professionally.

What Does the Program Offer?

• Creates the self-sufficient and versatile filmmaker, competent in shooting, editing, lighting, sound recording at a professional level all on one’s own.
• Provides a total immersion experience, involving students shooting projects on a weekly basis.
• Orients students to the diversity and breadth of the discipline, covering the history and theory of documentary from the early 20th century to the present.
• Provides a how-to guide in terms of interviewing techniques, coverage, ethics, authorship, voice, working with archival material, and more.

How Will the Program Help Filmmakers Get into the Industry?

• The program will inculcate the skills to make non-fiction audio-visual products at a professional level.
• Students in the PFS documentary course take part in the industry section of both the Jihlava and the One World documentary film festivals held annually in the Czech Republic.
• Part of the curriculum covers industry-related topics – from pitching to film festivals and distribution.

Student Careers

Students entering the Prague Film School documentary program typically come socially-minded, prepared to tell truth to power and already sensitized to the infinite number of fascinating stories embedded in real life around us. The documentary program gives its students the skills to tell these stories – structurally, aesthetically, and technically.

Sample Alumni Career Trajectories

• Caitlin Mae Burke (2005) pursued a career producing and directing non-fiction and reality television in the United States after her time at PFS.
• Anne Svejgård Lund (2011) was accepted into Britain’s prestigious National Film School largely based on her work at Prague Film School.
• Dieter Auner (2006) distributed his first acclaimed documentary feature, Leaving Transylvania, the year following his graduation in 2006.
• Omid Marzban (2010) directed the documentary Rebel Beats a few years following graduation at Prague Film School.

Documentary Year Program

Next Open Dates:

• September 5, 2025 - May 22, 2026

Application Form

The Documentary Production Program at Prague Film School emphasizes storytelling. Through intensive practical and theoretical work, each student at PFS develops his/her voice as a documentary storyteller and learns the techniques to grab the audience and take them on an emotional journey.

Content of the 1st Semester

• Foundation Courses (obligatory):
  • Documentary Theory/History
  • Documentary Workshop
  • Cinematography
  • Editing
  • Documentary Industry
• Production Workflow (obligatory):
  • Operation of film-making equipment (camera, lighting, and sound systems)
  • Crew production protocol
  • Sound production (recording, mixing, design)
  • Grip equipment (camera support systems)
• Elective/Specialization Courses (each student takes 2 courses):
  • Aesthetics of the Film Shot as a Component of Film Language
  • Acting Styles
  • Advanced Cameras
  • Central and East European Cinema
  • Directing Actors
  • Directing the Camera
  • Film Industry
  • Film Comedy
  • Film Analysis
  • Lighting
  • Photography for Cinematography
  • Post-production effects
  • Post-production workflow
  • Visualization
• Studio Work: End of Semester Film (64 hours)

Content of the 2nd Semester

• Documentary Core Classes:
  • Documentary Production
  • Documentary Workshops
  • Documentary Editing Practicum
  • Documentary Editing Theory
  • Diploma Film
• Elective Courses:
  • Advanced Editing Theory
  • Acting Styles
  • Camera for Cinematographers
  • Cinematography Workshop
  • Cinematography Advanced
  • Computer Animation
  • Directing Workshop
  • Directing Actors – Advanced
  • Directing Actors – Beginner
  • Documentary Production
  • Documentary Workshop
  • Documentary & Fiction Film History
  • Editing Techniques: Commercials /Music Videos / Movie Trailers
  • Editing Workshop
  • Film Analysis
  • Film Industry
  • Photography for Cinematography: Composition
  • Post Production Effects
  • Post Production Work Flow
  • Screenwriting Diploma Films
  • Screenwriting Feature
  • Screenwriting Across Genres
  • Screenwriting Adaptations
  • Visualization
• Studio Work: Diploma Film (64 hours)

Documentary Semester Program

Next Open Dates:

• September 5, 2025 – December 19, 2025
• January 9, 2026 – May 22, 2026 (joining the second semester of the year program)

Application Form

The semester documentary film program is the first semester of the year documentary course. The curriculum is aimed at imparting technical hard skills through weekly filmmaking projects and a solid knowledge of the discipline through a rigorous examination of important documentary works throughout history and from around the world.

Content of the Semester

• Foundation Courses (obligatory):
  • Documentary Theory/History
  • Documentary Workshop
  • Cinematography
  • Editing
  • Documentary Industry
• Production Workflow (obligatory):
  • Operation of film-making equipment (camera, lighting, and sound systems)
  • Crew production protocol
  • Sound production (recording, mixing, design)
  • Grip equipment (camera support systems)
• Elective/Specialization Courses (each student takes 2 courses):
  • Aesthetics of the Film Shot as a Component of Film Language
  • Acting Styles
  • Advanced Cameras
  • Central and East European Cinema
  • Directing Actors
  • Directing the Camera
  • Film Industry
  • Film Comedy
  • Film Analysis
  • Lighting
  • Photography for Cinematography
  • Post-production effects
  • Post-production workflow
  • Visualization
• Studio Work: End of Semester Film (64 hours)

Faculty

• Masa Hilcisin, Ph.D. - Directing, Documentary Film, Experimental Cinema
• Martin Andersson - Documentary Production
• Gabriel M. Paletz, Ph.D. - Screenwriting
• Thomas Krivy - Cinematography
• Robert Gottman - Editing, Sound
• Luka Knezević - Editing, Aspects of Film Language, Modern European Cinema
• Steve Reverand - Film Production, Film Business
• Ružica Eterović - Finding Your Inner Voice
• Adam Trachtman - Animation
• Claudia Kubiszova - Czech Language