A new Masters of Fine Art in film has been launched at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) with the first cohort of students anticipated to begin their studies in September 2026.
Students on the two-year programme will spend their first year at ECA and their second at the Paris College of Art (PCA), France.
The programme is about making fiction and experimental films which draw on artistic traditions and, in this way, differs from ECA’s established MA Film Directing programme which focusses on the documentary industry and practices.
The programme will be taught in English during both years, but students will have the option to study French at the University of Edinburgh and PCA if they wish to do so.
Programme staff
Co-programme directors Alex Nevill (ECA) and Harald Hutter (Paris College of Art) bring extensive international experience of both the film industry and academia.
Alex and Harald met while they were living in London in 2011, where they worked on several independent films. They have been friends and collaborators ever since, even though Alex is now based in Edinburgh and Harald in Paris. Their latest film together, LELEKA, will be shown at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November 2025. Also teaching on the programme at ECA will be Aurélien Froment, lecturer, artist and filmmaker, Scott Barley, teaching fellow and experimental filmmaker and Myk Anusas, lecturer and cultural anthropologist.
Two-year MFA programme
Many postgraduate programmes in film are limited to one year. Alex says he feels it’s important for this programme to be taught across two years and two schools: “Films take time. We want our students to feel they can be ambitious and to be supported in the entire filmmaking process, from laying the foundations through project conceptualisation, production and making steps to show their final films at festivals or in exhibitions.”
“By giving our students breathing room, and production support over a longer period, they will have time to experiment and develop their creative voice,” Alex continued. “They’ll also have a chance to take a deeper dive into the film industry, exploring wider creative approaches than a shorter programme allows, working collaboratively and across cultures.”
US Accreditation
Paris School of Art is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design in the United States, and students will have an option to study an arts education course within their second year in Paris, meaning that this MFA can be an entryway to teaching positions in the US.
Open for applications
The MFA Fim Art is accepting applications. Find out how to apply on the University of Edinburgh’s degree finder.
About Alex Nevill
Alex Nevill is a cinematographer and filmmaker based in Edinburgh. He has shot several independent feature films and numerous short projects with a focus on creative fiction and artist's moving image work. His previous films include commissions from Creative England, Channel 4, Film London and have screened at major film festivals such as BFI London, Edinburgh, Palm Springs and IDFA. He also directed Ferroequinology, a feature film which screened at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2022 and Notes From Book House, a short film which screened at the Open City Documentary Festival in 2025. Alex studied filmmaking at the Screen Academy Scotland and then completed a practice-led PhD in the Digital Cultures Research Centre at UWE Bristol.
About Harald Hutter
Harald Hutter is a film director based in Paris. He holds a BFA in Art History from Concordia University, Canada, and an MA in Film Theory from University College London.
His first feature film Up the River with Acid won the Grand Prize at Cinéma du Réel and received a Special Mention for the Loriden-Ivens / CNAP Prize in 2023. His short films have won prizes, have been nominated by the British Council and have screened at numerous festivals internationally.
Harald is Chair of the Film Art department at the Paris College of Art which runs joint degree programmes with Emerson College in Boston and the University of Edinburgh.
