Cinema Studies
Cinema Studies at ELTE
Although there was a prestigious (and internationally appreciated) academic education available for film artists in the last 50 years in Hungary, no institutional way of learning theory and history of cinema existed till the early 90s.The necessity of establishing academic film departments became obvious in parallel with the nationwide urge of reforming the secondary level curriculum of art and social sciences in Hungary by introducing some new subjects, e. g. Cinema and Communication. The Institute for Art Theory and Media Studies at ELTE was one of the first higher education institutions in Hungary to offer a program and a degree in Film Studies training film- and communication teachers, film-critics, experts and executives of the distribution and exhibition side. In 1994 Cinema studies was launched only as a set of special courses tailored for students interested in Cinema only complementing their professional knowledge in other fields. Some years later an independent Cinema Studies curriculum was born and the former complementary program was reorganized on department level, within the frame of the Institute for Art Theory and Media Studies, the very first scientific workshop of aesthetics in Budapest which had been founded originally by George Lukacs, the most remarkable 20th Century Hungarian philosopher and by his disciples.
At the present we offer three degree programs (one undergraduate and one postgraduate) concerning Film Studies: BA in Liberal Arts with a open way of specialization in Film Theory and Film History, a PhD program in Film, Media and Contemporary Culture and an MA in Film Studies (to be launched in September 2009).
The Film Theory and Film History specialization offers a general overview on the history and theory of film, as well as a critical understanding of mechanisms and genres of popular film culture, with emphasis on academic and critical writing and filmmaking practices. Students can learn about the different periods of Hungarian and world film history, different theoretical approaches of film studies, different filmic genres, and can also practice some skills of reading theoretical texts and interpreting films. They can also choose from a number of elective specialized courses (e.g. different film genres, adaptation theory, Bollywood cinema, contemporary Hungarian film, etc.) Our elaborated (but not yet tested) MA program will help students to develop their fundamental knowledge gained in the course of the BA Program. In form of special consultations we help them to shape their own special interest, and support their work in the chosen research area. Through this method we hope to train more committed specialists, who will be capable of a continuously improving their knowledge.
Due to the fact that the BA level curriculum traditionally involves some creative workshops, from script doctoring courses to general filmmaking skills – the Institute regularly invites some noteworthy Hungarian filmmakers – scriptwriters, directors, and directors of photography – to take part in the creative side of the curriculum as guest tutors and lecturers. This workshop-activity completes the theoretical training with movie-making and scriptwriting courses, giving a chance for the students to make films of their own. For the practical part of training the Institute has some minor filmmaking facilities: a computer lab, digital television and radio studio, editing rooms, used both for teaching and experimenting.