From 23 to 25 April 2026, the mentoring program took place with the Spanish experimental filmmaker and audiovisual artist Luis Macías. In his work, Macías explores the formal properties of moving images and what he refers to as their “spectral” qualities. He investigates both in the context of shooting and projection as well as through photochemical processes. He invents new configurations of apparatuses and similarly explores the possibilities of the film laboratory.

His works have been presented at international festivals such as Light Field Festival (USA), Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (Germany), IFFR – International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands), L’Alternativa (Spain), Ann Arbor International Film Festival (USA), VideoEx – Experimental Film & Video Festival (Switzerland), 25FPS International Film and Video Festival (Croatia), BFI London Film Festival (UK), and others. Macías is based in Barcelona and is a co-founder of the local film art lab Crater-Lab, which is involved in research-based European art projects, organizes a festival, and offers artist residencies.

The program consisted of an artistic lecture, “Your Eyes Are Spectral Machines”, in which Macías discussed his approach, working methods, and performative practice. The lecture included screenings of fragments from his earlier performances and two films presented from 35mm prints. Following the lecture, a full-day practical workshop, “Moving Stills”, introduced students to photographic, photochemical, and handmade techniques for black-and-white and color slides, which were then explored in a projection setting. The workshop concluded with a collective improvisation. On the final day of the mentoring programme, Luis Macías presented his two recent film performances, I Can’t See The Sixth Sun and Inside-Outside-Around, at Alfred ve dvoře. Both works combined 16mm projection with a slide projector apparatus.