INVITATION TO TAKE PART IN STORY CIRCLES IN BABELSBERG

The Producing Department and the Department of Directing  announce an open call for five places on an international artistic research masterclass. The workshop is open to all students on accredited Master’s and PhD film programmes at FAMU.

Date: September 21 – 26, 2026
Venue: University Babelsberg Kondrad Wolf

PROGRAMME
The Masterclass "Story Circles", is a six-day interdisciplinary workshop hosted by Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF (FBKW), exploring collective world building as artistic research. In collaboration with FAMU Prague and FH Potsdam, the Masterclass uses collaborative, creative world building as a method to investigate dramaturgy, narrative structures, and their ideological implications. 
Participants will collectively develop a fictional (potentially speculative) story world defined by a key event. Based on this shared foundation, small interdisciplinary groups will create different narrative versions and visual representations of the same world following distinct dramaturgical storyworld-models. These perspectives will then be brought together into a complex, multi-perspective story world. The Masterclass will conclude with a public presentation on Saturday, September 26, 2026. The results of the Masterclass may be presented at further conferences internationally. 

The accompanying lecturer from FAMU will be Tomáš Janáček (Department of Directing).

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
-    The German side will cover the cost of hotel accommodation with breakfast (twin rooms) and train travel.
-    FAMU will provide a stipend of 2,000 CZK to cover additional expenses (there are options for inexpensive meals at the canteen at the event venue). The stipend will be paid after the event; within 14 days upon receipt of confirmation of attendance.

APPLICATION 
Applicants must apply by 13 September 2026 via the ONLINE FORM (log in via your school account). The application must include a motivation part and a short commentary /portfolio on your own work, ideally focusing on storytelling and worldview/worldbuilding. 
Previous experiences with generative AI (text, image and video) are welcome but not strictly required. The international Masterclass will be held in English. 
The selected group of students should be diverse in terms of their fields of study – we are looking for directors, screenwriters and those in technical disciplines.

If you have any questions, please contact the head of KP, Tereza Czesany Dvořáková (tereza.dvorakova@famu.cz).