Berlin Film Community

More than Human in Filmmaking

Sat, Jun 20 · 11:00 AM CEST

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Online

Online

LevelBeginner - No previous experience required
Must be at least 15 years old
LanguageEnglish
DateSAT, JUN 20, 2026 · 11:00 – 13:00
Cost€25.00
LocationOnline
Contact linda@berlinfilmcommunity.com
Enrol here: https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=more-than-human-in-filmmaking
BFC members pay €22 - save €3 on this course.
Membership costs €30/year and includes 10% off all workshops plus member-only events.
Log in or join BFC while enrolling.

In this 2-hour session, I will draw on indigenous knowledge, academic perspectives, and other sources to challenge the centrality of human narratives.
Together, we will explore how cinematic action can elevate the often unseen beings that we share our world with. I'll share practical techniques to decontextualize human-focused perspectives and incorporate the more-than-human into creative visual practices. This seminar will open new possibilities for storytelling, inviting a deeper connection to the natural and beyond-human world.

## What YouWill Learn

• Introduction to an Ecological Frameworks in Visual Storytelling
• How Posthuman Theories challenge Anthropocentric Narratives
• Multimodal and Sensory Approaches in Filmmaking
• Indigenous Knowledge and Relational Ethics
• Recent Works (2023-2026) by Filmmakers and Artists
• Practical Techniques for Decentering Human Narratives
• How to open New Creative Possibilities

## Workshop Mentor

Linda Paganelli is an artist, anthropologist, and filmmaker integrating more than human perspectives in her storytelling. Drawing on over 13 years of experience across diverse contexts, Linda guides participants toward non-extractive, ethically grounded visual practices that challenge dominant knowledge paradigms and foreground embodied positionalities. Since 2018, she has been working with More-Than-Human frameworks, creating short documentaries such as Journey of Waves and Imprinted, as well as installations including Carbon Spa in collaboration with scientists from the university of Twente (Netherlands) and ECO-MOURNING developed through the Community of Practice with CitizensLab (Germany). Her practice center interspecies relationships, ecological interdependence, and the agency of non-human beings in visual storytelling.

Enrol here: https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=more-than-human-in-filmmaking

TURNING RESEARCH INTO A DOCUMENTARY

Sat, Jul 4 · 2:00 PM CEST

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Online

Online

Level Beginner - No previous experience required
Must be at least 15 years old
Language English
Date SAT, JUL 4, 2026 · 14:00 – 16:00
Cost €25.00/ Students €17.00/Unemployed €12.00 (must show a proof)
Location Online
Contact linda@berlinfilmcommunity.com
Enrol here: https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=turning-research-into-a-documentary

BFC members pay €22 - save €3 on this course.
Membership costs €30/year and includes 10% off all workshops plus member-only events.
Log in or join BFC while enrolling.

In this 2-hour online seminar, we will delve into how research can be transformed into powerful documentary narratives through multimodal expressions. We will critically examine the myth of neutrality in field research and explore the Theory of the Occasion as a means to engage with positionality and embodied knowledge. This session challenges participants to unlearn traditional scientific narratives and embrace creative, ethical approaches that honor complexity and subjectivity in storytelling. Whether you are a filmmaker, researcher, artist, academic, activist, or simply curious about this topic, this seminar invites you to rethink the relationship between knowledge production and representation through concrete examples and reflective practice.

***

## What You Will Learn

• Understanding multimodal expressions in documentary storytelling
• Deconstructing the myth of neutrality in field research
• Applying the Theory of the Occasion to creative narrative
• The role of positionality in shaping research-based documentaries
• Strategies to unlearn scientific narrative frameworks
• Analyzing concrete examples from documentary projects
• Embracing reflexivity and ethical responsibility in filmmaking

## Workshop Mentor

Linda Paganelli is an artist, anthropologist, and filmmaker who blends decolonial and queer*feminist perspectives with immersive visual storytelling. With over 13 years of experience collaborating with universities, museums, and cultural institutions, Linda draws on her extensive field research conducted in Afghanistan, Palestine/Israel, and the South West Balkans. She guides you through intimate, ethical, and inclusive filmmaking practices that honor memory, resistance, and more-than-human worlds.

Cinema Camera Workshop: Professional Film Camerawork

Sat, Jul 18 · 9:00 AM CEST

Space Meduza, Skalitzer Strasse 80, Berlin, al, DE

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Note: In order to attend you must register and pay at https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=cinema-camerawork-workshop

***

Level: Beginner.

The workshop is conducted in English and costs 299€.
If you become a member you get the first year of membership included in this price. If you are already a member you get 10% off of this workshop as well as all educational courses, plus loads more.
Find out the full member benefits below.
https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/membership.php

If you’re looking to advance your filmmaking knowledge by learning the tools and techniques that will get your camera knowledge ready for a film set, this workshop will help you take several big steps down that road. You will learn not just the camera technology, but also how to apply it, because while filmmaking is very technical, that technical knowledge is only a means to an end, which is to give you more time to spend on the creative aspects of filmmaking.

This will be a heavily hands-on workshop that will be a mix of information, demonstration and practical exercise. You will learn how to setup a film camera, what all the parts do, many of the camera settings and how they are used in different shooting situations. Together as a team we will plan out and shoot a pre-scripted scene. However, before planning the shoot we will review the camerawork theory and reasoning behind shot selection. This exercise will familiarize you not only with technical camera information, but also how to operate quickly in order to allow more time for creativity.

Everyone in the class will get the opportunity to setup the cinema camera, use all the accessories, and shoot part of the scene.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, feel free to reach out to me at alex(at)berlinfilmcommunity(dot)com.

Schedule:
Day 1:
Saturday, July 18th – 09:00 – 16:00

• Cameras used in professional filmmaking
• Mid-level and pro-level Film Cameras
• What to look for when renting equipment
• Event, documentary, and narrative camera choices at different budgets

Codecs and bit depth

• Raw, Log, compressed codecs
• Picture profiles and LUT’s
• Bit depth explained
• Sensor size and crop factor
• Dynamic range explained

Exposure and exposure tools

• False color, Waveform, Histogram, Zebras
• Protecting your highlights
• Exposing your subject correctly – skin tones
• Light meters & lighting ratios with demonstration
• Maintaining consistency between shots

Focus

• Wireless follow focus – setup and use
• Focus monitor and peaking
• Creating marks and measuring distance

Tools of the trade & misc. camera knowledge dump

• Filters – when to use which filter
• Tripods and heads
• Slating (clapper) and set commands
• Video Village monitor setup
• High capacity batteries
• Rolling shutter and moiré – how to minimize their effect
• Pushing footage until it breaks to learn your camera’s limits

Building up a cinema camera

• Cinema lenses, follow focus, focus monitor, wireless transmitter, & video village monitor.
• In camera settings – white balance, frame rate, shutter speed, exposure
• Q&A & Review

Day 2:
Sunday, July 19th – 09:00 – 16:00

Scene breakdown

• Breaking down the scene we will be shooting
• Shot list, storyboard analysis
• Determining which shots to group together & why
• Estimating time for setup

Setting up the camera in a group

• Group work - Setup the camera to be ready to shoot.
• Creating shooting schedule and shot list

Shooting the scene

• Shoot the scripted scene using the schedule and shot list.
• Everyone rotating through all roles
• Review of the raw footage

About the Workshop Leader
Hi, I’m Alex DePew and I will be your guide on this filmmaking adventure. I have been working in the film industry for over 16 years and have led many filmmaking workshops. I absolutely love teaching beginners the ropes. I get tons of joy when I see someone light up as they make a connections between what I am teaching and something they have seen in a movie. And when they apply that knowledge to their own film it is a thing of beauty.

***Please go to the below link to register and for the full information.***
https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=cinema-camerawork-workshop

Film Lighting Workshop: Hands-on Lighting

Sat, Jul 25 · 9:00 AM CEST

Space Meduza, Skalitzer Strasse 80, Berlin, al, DE

***
Note: In order to attend you must register and pay at https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/course.php?slug=film-lighting-workshop
***

***

Level: Beginner.
The workshop is conducted in English and costs 299€.
Membership
Berlin Film Community members pay €269 - save €30 on this course.
Membership costs €30/year and includes 10% off all workshops plus member-only events.
When you purchase this workshop, your first year membership is included in the price.
To find out more info about the Berlin Film Community visit our website.
https://berlinfilmcommunity.com/

Lighting transforms a flat, styleless image into one with depth, mood, and emotion. In this workshop, you'll learn the fundamentals of how light works and when to choose one approach over another — through doing, not just watching.
Working together as a class, we'll light several scenes in the same location using HMI, tungsten, and LED lights along with a range of light modifiers. You'll also have dedicated time to experiment, and I'll work with you directly to light a scene of your choosing.

With a maximum of 12 participants, you'll get real personal attention and enough time to develop confidence without feeling rushed. The course is designed to meet you where you are — whether you've never touched a light or have some experience already.
By the end, you'll have hands-on familiarity with lighting instruments, modifiers, interview setups, and adaptable techniques you can apply across a range of situations.

Lighting A Set
I will show you how I would light several different scenes, ranging from a pleasant conversation to a much more sinister thriller look, as well as a nighttime moody interior scene. I will show you how I would light for the wide shot and then the modifications I would do when going for a closeup.

Lighting a face
The most common subject that gets lit in films is, as you would expect, the human face. We will light several different looks and you will see how small changes in light angles or height can have massive impacts on how we perceive a character. I will also cover how to set up lighting for an interview set-up and the different looks that can give a face more depth.

Lighting With Different Budget Levels
You will learn the tools used when working with a limited budget. You’ll be amazed at what you can get with some simple lights, a shower curtain, some garbage bags, and a cheap paper lantern from Ikea.

Safety On Set
As rigging lights and handling them can be dangerous, I will go over how to handle hot lights, and how to keep from overloading circuits. Please bring a pair of workman’s gloves to be able to handle hot lights.

As a group you will be handling the lighting equipment with me there to supervise and instruct. While you can’t learn everything you need to know about lighting in two days, hopefully by the end of the workshop you will have enough of an understanding to ask the right questions, learn through observation, and find like minded people with whom you can practice lighting.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, feel free to reach out to me at alex(at)berlinfilmcommunity(dot)com.

Schedule:
Day 1:
Saturday, July 25th – 09:00 – 16:00

The basics of how light works
Differences between hard and soft light
High key versus low key lighting
Lighting exteriors versus interiors, day versus night
Breaking scenes down to understand lighting choices
Different tools used in lighting and when and how to use them
Supervised lighting of two scenes with instruction as we light them
Q&A

Day 2:
Sunday, July 26th – 09:00 – 16:00

Breaking down more complicated scenes
Interview lighting set-ups
Analyzing and replicating scenes
Supervised free lighting
Q&A

The workshop is conducted in English.
No previous experience is required.
Please bring a pair of work gloves to handle hot lights.

About the Workshop Leader
Alex DePew is a cinematographer and gaffer with 17+ years of industry experience, passionate about teaching and connecting filmmakers. Having worked globally on shorts, music videos, and commercials, Alex guides you through lighting craft with clarity and enthusiasm, making complex concepts accessible to all.