In partnership with La Manufacture, the Master Cinema ECAL/HEAD invited director Yann Gonzalez for a directing workshop.

Workshop Supervisor: Yann Gonzalez

The most crucial challenge, while working on the question of theatricality, was to establish connections between the students of the Master Cinema ECAL/HEAD and those of La Manufacture – Master Mise en Scène. Theatricality is intrinsic to my cinephilia and, consequently, to my films. By showing students excerpts ranging from Chantal Akerman's "Toute une nuit" to John Waters' "Desperate Living," from Daniel Schmid's "Cette nuit ou jamais" to a music video by Palmbomen II, I aimed to convey the idea of a pluralistic theatricality, at once playful and grotesque, hypnotic and lyrical. Theatricality as a tool of freedom, in essence. And this is what we sought, all together, during this short week of workshop: to craft bursts of freedom within the constraints of a collective exercise with limited resources – two days of preparation and reflection, two days of shooting, one day of editing. Starting from minimal constraints and narratives, two groups of six students each thus unleashed their wildest imaginations and shared responsibilities with a sense of camaraderie that was heartening to witness.

Yann Gonzalez, Director