Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and Paris College of Art (PCA) have recently launched a new taught postgraduate programme, the Master of Fine Art in Film Art.  

Now open for applications for a September 2026 start, the programme explores independent filmmaking through creative collaborative practice combined with reflection and research in contemporary cinema. 

In this article, we profile a few of the programme’s staff to give applicants an insight on who will form the core of the programme team. 

Alex Nevill, MFA Film Art Programme Director, ECA 

What’s your favourite part of making a film?  

Getting behind a camera and visiting different locations during the production itself is often the most enjoyable part of a filmmaking process for me.  

When things are working well, production can feel like a fantastic bubble of experimentation and exchanging ideas. At this stage, a film is usually still very malleable so it’s about bringing a vision to life through practical light, colour, texture, movement, duration and framing decisions. 

Can you describe your work?  

I've been working as a Director of Photography on feature and short narrative films for around 15 years, with a particular focus on creative non-fiction and artist's moving image work. I collaborate with directors and artists internationally to shape an original aesthetic and find unique forms of expression for each project.  

Alongside this, I’ve directed a few personal documentary films which have allowed me a further creative outlet and opportunity to explore new ways of working. 

Tell us about your research

My research is closely linked to the programme and focuses on intersections of film practice and theory.  

I am particularly interested in exploring light as a cultural and creative force in filmmaking, installation and expanded forms of cinema, emerging technologies and film-philosophy.  

I also supervise a few practice-based PhD researchers working with film and I’m part of two research clusters related to cinema which show how Edinburgh College of Art can be a vibrant space for MFA students looking to approach their filmmaking as a form of artistic enquiry. 

What are your hopes for the programme?  

The programme has developed from my longstanding filmmaking collaboration with Harald Hutter at Paris College of Art. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to feed this ongoing practice into our teaching and explore new ways of making films with the MFA students.  

Overall, we’re aiming for the MFA programme to become an international hub that produces innovative short films and helps to develop leading independent filmmakers.  

Harald Hutter, MFA Film Art Programme Director, PCA

What’s your favourite part of making a film?  

I love being on set when the sound of analogue film is going through the camera and all the cast and crew are focusing intensely on a shared goal. There’s something magical about that process and being one with all the moving parts involved. This sense of magic is further amplified when, by chance, something unexpected enters the frame and makes the shot into something greater than what was envisioned initially.  

Can you describe your work and do you have themes you like to explore?  

I work at the intersection of fiction and documentary, and my films tend to revolve around themes of memory and time. My most recent film is about a Ukrainian refugee who’s been based in Paris since the beginning of the war and who decides to travel home to commemorate the passing of a relative.  

When you were starting out as a filmmaker, what was the most important thing you learned?

I learned through experience that prepping is essential. I often work without a script but that does not mean that I don’t spend ages prepping and thinking about the film ahead of production. If anything, shooting without a script means that I need to spend a lot more time than if I was working with a script, as I need to make sure I have created a clear framework so that the cast and crew are working towards the same goal. 

Tell us about your research  

Yes, researching is absolutely primordial to my role at PCA. The research undertaken guides the curriculum choices to make sure that the student’s experience is current and relevant.  

What are your hopes for the programme?  

I hope that the programme will foster collaboration and will prove to be a fertile ground for artists and thinkers to come together and collaborate towards making films that broaden our understanding of the world we live in. 

How will studying in two locations benefit students?

PCA is an American institution based in the heart of Paris. As such, the university culture is akin to what one would expect from a traditional US based college – all  teaching is done in English, the campus functions like an American campus, but our faculty and staff come from all over the world. Whilst students are in Paris, they will get to work with professionals from a broad spectrum of practices but also cultures and backgrounds. This makes for a diverse learning experience which prepares students to work in a globalised world. 

Do you have any advice for people who are interested in applying for the programme? 

 I would recommend that they put forward what is unique about their work. We are keen to welcome students who come from a variety of backgrounds and are broaching moving images from new perspectives. 

Scott Barley, Teaching Fellow, ECA

What’s your favourite part of making a film? 

There’s a unique joy for me in the editing process, layering with many images and sound with no predetermined goal, only intuition. It feels like making music or working and re-working a poem. Sometimes, if I am lucky, there is this sense of myself disappearing, of entering a fugue state, and then upon returning to a state of lucidity, somehow, almost magically, more work has materialised. In these moments, I feel less of a filmmaker, and more of a conduit, a vessel, for something more-than-myself to become manifest within the work. 

Can you describe your work and do you have themes you like to explore?  

I create contemplative, sensorial cinema that challenges anthropocentric narratives and conventional storytelling, exploring themes of nature, darkness, cosmology, and mysticism. My work seeks to render the invisible visible, using minimalist, eco-conscious means – often just an iPhone, combined with my paintings and drawings – to create immersive experiences that invite viewers into altered states of experience and feeling. 

When you were starting out as a filmmaker, what was the most important thing you learned?

The most important lesson was learning to trust my own sensibility and to embrace radical independence – moving away from traditional crew structures and expensive equipment to find a sustainable, personal practice. For a life in filmmaking to remain sustainable and meaningful for me, I needed to find a practice that was akin to when I was painting. I see my filmmaking as a continuation of painting, only it is now augmented by movement, sound, and time. Over time, I have found that limitations are paradoxically incredibly liberating, and that the most essential tools are patience, curiosity, and a willingness, a resilience, to be who you truly feel you are. 

Aurélien Froment, Lecturer, ECA

What’s your favourite part of making a film?  

I like all aspects of filmmaking but filming is my favourite part. I suppose it’s because it’s the shortest part for me. I do a lot of research, and preparation on my own before, and I edit my work, so these parts can be as long as I want. Filming on the other hand has a completely different energy to it. This is very exciting to see all the preparatory work becoming a reality. Everything you imagined comes together and is augmented by the work of each collaborator. It becomes more porous, playful, and open to new circumstances. 

Can you describe your work and do you have themes you like to explore?  

I’m a visual artist and my practice ranges across medium, from photographic to moving image installations, and films. Some of the starting points of my work include 1960s visionary architecture, the Kindergarten teaching objects, the ancient Art of Memory, outsider art, performances by a Senegalese Indian dance company, and many more. My practice is of a non-specialist; it is a means to re-invent myself in new circumstances. I adapt my working method to each project I’m working with, and I learn as I go. I am currently writing a film with language as the main invisible character, exploring its tensions, and how they relate to our interaction with the world and our selves. 

When you were starting out as a filmmaker, what was the most important thing you learned?

I learned a lot from my peers and artist friends, things that I still treasure like the joy of making, to keep things simple, to do it now rather than later. In relation to film and moving image, I learned a lot when I was a student working as a projectionist, about audience, performance, the theatrical conditions in which we experience films. Artist David Claerbout says that the medium of the filmmaker is not the film strip (celluloid or digital), neither, the screen, nor the light, but the audiences’ memory and that, for me, encapsulates it all. 

Tell us about your research

I’m involved in research at ECA in different ways. I’ve worked closely with my colleagues in Art as the subject area’s Research Director for three years. With colleagues in the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literature, Languages and Cultures, we started the Expanding Cinema Research group, which brings together researchers working with artists’ moving image and experimental cinema. As film is ubiquitous, there are many of us! It offers a platform to share work progress and support each other. We also organise public events, including film screenings, and in-conversation with filmmakers. 

My current art and film work projects flow organically in my teaching, from BA to MA and practice-based PhDs.