BAL Film
School
#6
January 2026 - June 2026
Online and in person
Baltic Analog Lab announces the sixth edition of our BAL Film School – an international five-month course in experimental analog filmmaking.
The school is open for both international and national participants, providing regular online meetings with filmmakers and researchers from all around the world, teaching in-person as well as online workshops, and providing assistance in analog film production.
The course provides participation either in online sessions only or online and in-person masterclasses (full course).
The online meetings will happen weekly via Zoom, allowing participants to join from any location and engage with filmmakers as well as fellow students.
This year, our in-person masterclasses will provide training in BAL premises in Riga and Crater Lab in Barcelona, teaching shooting, processing, and duplicating 16mm film as well as incorporating it in expanded cinema performance at the final event of the school with filmmaker Gaëlle Rouard from France.
By meeting various filmmakers whose work predominantly focuses on analog, experimental film, the aim of the school is to provide an alternative education in film studies, diving into various forms and expressions of experimental film language.
Supported by the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation
Guest Speakers
Regulations
The course starts in January 2026 and ends at the end of June 2026.
Applications are open until December 30, 2025
Anyone over the age of 20 can apply to the school.
We offer two participation models, each at a different cost:
Full course cost:
800 EUR for international,
700 EUR for national participants
Online course cost:
400 EUR
Payments can be made in several installments.
Full course offers participation in all online sessions, seminars, and online workshops, as well as participation in 3 in-person masterclasses in Riga and Barcelona, as well as film stock, access to the darkroom, film equipment as well and personal assistance for processing films at Baltic Analog Lab. At the end of the course, the full course students are expected to finish their films, which will be shown in a public event in Riga in June, together with an expanded cinema performance led by Gaëlle Rouard made during the final masterclass.
Travel costs and accommodation costs for the in-person masterclasses must be covered by the participants themselves.
Online course includes participation in all online sessions, seminars, and online workshops led by international teachers and filmmakers sharing their knowledge and very specific tips and tricks of creating experimental films.
Each lecture will be recorded and available to all participants, in case they cannot guarantee their presence at the scheduled meeting.
The meetings will happen once a week in the evenings at 7 PM CET, with some exceptions for overseas visiting lecturers.
NB! We only accept 20 participants for the full course due to the limited capacity of the mentorship and space in the lab.
Program
This course provides an in-depth exploration of experimental film, combining historical context with contemporary perspectives and practical, hands-on learning. Throughout the program, participants will meet filmmakers from around the world and discover their distinct approaches to experimental cinema. These encounters will take place via Zoom, offering opportunities for interactive dialogue, questions, and meaningful conversation.
Our guest speakers include artists who have shaped the experimental film landscape for decades, working extensively with analog film and presenting their work at international film festivals, art-house cinemas, contemporary art museums, galleries, underground screenings, and artist-run film laboratories.
In addition to discussions with filmmakers and researchers, the course features online workshops and seminars designed to encourage active participation, collaboration, and deeper engagement with both peers and the instructor.
This year, amongst confirmed speakers, there are Emmanuel Lefrant (FR), Kim Knowles (UK), Karel Doing (NL/UK), Peter Tscherkassky (AT), Esther Urlus (NL), Ana Vaz (BR), Alexandre Larose (CA), Richard Tuohy (AU), Zachary Epcar (USA), Ieva Balode (LV), Elena Pardo (MX), Adrian Cousins (UK), Milja Viita (FI), Yago Alcover (ES), Gaëlle Rouard (FR) and others (to be confirmed)
Online meetings will happen once a week in the evenings, with some materials given before the meeting – film links, reading materials, or tasks. Once a month, there will also be a seminar where participants will be engaging with each other and the lecturer in a group environment.
Apart from meeting filmmakers and theoreticians, we will also offer online workshops with Ieva Balode (LV), Richard Tuohy (AU), Dianna Barrie (AU), Esther Urlus (NL), and Adrian Cousins (UK).
For the full course participants, we offer three in-person masterclasses – first happening in Riga for 3-4 days at Baltic Analog Lab with its founder, Ieva Balode, teaching basic shooting with a 16mm Bolex camera and film processing of black and white and colour film in an artist-run laboratory. During March, we will offer our second workshop at Crater Lab with their member Yago Alcover, teaching a workshop on duplicating 16mm film using a contact printer. The third workshop will happen in early June, led by French filmmaker Gaëlle Rouard.
During the masterclasses, students will receive film stock to work on their own films during the course, which can be processed and scanned at the Baltic Analog Lab or elsewhere in April and premiered at the final event in Riga in June 2026.
The course will be moderated by BAL founding member Ieva Balode (LV) and Kim Knowles (UK), senior lecturer of Aberystwyth University, film researcher, and film curator.
The school is supported by the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation.
Schedule:
December 5-30, 2025. Open call for applications
January 12, 2026. Announcement of participants
January 20, 2026. Start of the school
January-June, 2026 Zoom sessions
Full course:
February 19-22, 2026. Workshop in BAL with Ieva Balode, Riga
March 21-24, 2026. Workshop at Crater Lab, Barcelona
April, 2026. Film processing at BAL with Armands Andže (or elsewhere)
June 3-4, 2026. Workshop at BAL with Gaëlle Rouard
June 6, 2026. Film presentation and performance in Riga
