yearbook 2004/05 - The European Film College

speaking guide Abraham who showed us around
for a while before he got hold of our two former
students from 2002/2003 Ivo Staehli from
Switzerland and Maria Isabel Calabria from
Spain. This was an amazing and emotional moment
– they were not aware of our being there,
even though we had mailed the Director of the
school (without getting an answer) about our
intentions of visiting the school in October. So
tears were shed and kisses were exchanged – and
Ivo said with the lump in his throat: “It’s just
like my mum and dad coming to see me!”
They took their time to give us the big tour before
we had to meet the Director Julio Garcia
Espinosa, Cuba’s most famous documentarist,
former vice-minister of Cultural Department
in Fidel Castro’s Government. He is a man in
his mid 60’s, with whom we, via the interpreter
Abraham, exchanged the formal and informal
civilities and compliments sipping the most
wonderful mango-juice.
After that we had a hot lunch with Ivo and
Maria Isabel – and paid 50 cent for two persons!
The food was – like most food in Cuba
– not very interesting! And Ivo told us that in
the next village they have a guy delivering takeaway-food
– (“The Languster-man” – like we in
Ebeltoft have the “Pizza-man”) who for 5 dollars
will drive the 20 kilometres to sell them a
proper meal!
The Film School in San Antonio is similar to
the European Film College in its concept of
being a monastery out in the desert. Students
and teachers live on campus like we do here in
Ebeltoft. They host 40 students in their first
year and 42 students in their second year. In the
FROM THE TEACHERS
With the principal Ivo & Maria Isabel Memory Wall in students´office
year 2004/2005 they plan
to extend their teaching
curriculum with a third
year – and take in another
40 new in their first year.
They do not, as we do,
have many permanent
teachers employed, they
deal more with various
guest teachers – last year
24.
Some of them do not want
a fee for teaching – people like Steven Spielberg
– who like other famous visiting directors wrote
his name on the wall in the computer room
– (wish it was here!).
The School was founded in 1986 in the name
of “The School of Three Worlds” aiming at a
mission to help young people from developing
countries in Africa, Asia and South America to
learn and use the media of images. Later on a
communication and a co-operation with Europe
and the United States made it possible
to also open up the college for other foreign
students with a change of the name into the
present name, but still with the same goal: “To
create artists that will maintain a high aesthetic
level combined with an ethic technology and a
critical point of view on the world – combined
with the ability of dreaming!”
- And also this year some students from our school
will apply for the famous school in the middle of
Caribbean Sea.
What a pool