A professional, transformative and international
experience in the heart of Bologna
A professional, transformative and international experience in the heart of Bologna
. Lynne Ramsay / Lav Diaz . Two radical voices
Lynne Ramsay is an internationally acclaimed Scottish filmmaker whose work stands among the most distinctive voices in contemporary auteur cinema, who has redefined visual storytelling through a radical language of image, sound, and emotional fragmentation. From her award-winning emergence at the Cannes Film Festival to her critically acclaimed features, her work rejects convention to create an immersive, deeply psychological experience of cinema.
From Ratcatcher to Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here—awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes—Ramsay’s films dismantle traditional narrative to explore memory, trauma, and perception with extraordinary formal precision. Her cinema operates beyond dialogue and explanation: it is constructed through rhythm, silence, and striking visual composition, creating experiences that are not simply watched, but profoundly felt.
With her latest work, Die, My Love, she continues to push the boundaries of cinematic form, confirming a career defined by artistic rigor and fearless originality.
Ramsay creates work that is both emotionally devastating and formally rigorous. Her films do not seek to comfort, but to confront — positioning her as one of the essential auteurs of her generation.
To encounter Ramsay’s practice is to engage directly with the essence of auteur cinema at the highest level —where filmmaking becomes not a craft to imitate, but a language to master.
Lav Diaz is on of the most peculiar voices in contemporary cinema. Born in the Philippines, he turned a history of political turbulence into a lifelong cinematic investigation of memory, violence, and collective identity.
His cinema is grounded in a sustained engagement with the socio-political history of the Philippines, exploring themes of memory, violence, colonial legacy, and collective trauma.
Rejecting the conventions of industrial filmmaking, Diaz has developed a radically personal cinematic language defined by extreme duration, long takes, minimal narrative structuring, and a distinctive black-and-white aesthetic. His work transforms cinematic time into an experiential and contemplative space, challenging the viewer’s perception and expectations.
His major films include Norte, the End of History, From What Is Before, and The Woman Who Left, works that have received international recognition and major awards at the Venice Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and Locarno, including the Golden Lion and the Golden Leopard.
Today, Lav Diaz is recognized as one of the great living auteurs of world cinema, whose work continues to expand the boundaries of cinematic language and redefine the relationship between cinema, history, and human consciousness.
For our 13th edition, we are hosting 30 international talents who will be representatives of their nation.
The selected group of filmmakers have the opportunity to learn from the vision and personal approach to cinema of the IFA Master Teacher. Every year, we invite the best film auteurs of our time.
During the past editions, we hosted Bernardo Bertolucci, Abbas Kiarostami, Béla Tarr, Danis Tanovic, Cristian Mungiu, Jane Campion, John Landis, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Asghar Farhadi and Ruben Östlund, who is now our Honorary President.
Emerging
Directors
10
Emerging
DOP
10
Assistant
Directors
10
SHORT
MOVIES
10
IFA offerS an unique opportunity
- To write, shoot, edit and premiere a short film in Bologna under the guidance of one of the most influential world’s film authors as IFA Master Teacher.
- To get in touch with new visions and experience a deeper approach to cinema, under the direction of the Master Teacher, who mentors the IFA Participants through the whole filmmaking process, from the script to the final product.
- To work closely and have a daily one-to-one experience with the Master Teacher
- Create a network and a deep and lasting relationship with fellow talents based worldwide
- To experience an intercultural exchange and live the masterclass through the point of view of different cultures
- To screening of each short film at the Theater and get the Master Teacher’s feedback
- To have a full-immersive Italian Dolce Vita experience in the iconic places of Bologna in the summertime
- To have welcome and closing dinner with the IFA Master Teacher, participants and IFA team
- To have an accreditation for Il Cinema Ritrovato festival,(real cinephile paradise) with access to 500 movies screened in 9 days
The program is in English and will take place in Bologna from June 25th to July 7th 2026.
Tuition Fee
The tuition fee for the participation in IFA Masterclass is 5.000 euros which includes:
- Participation to the Masterclass in Filmmaking, under the guidance of the Master Teacher.
- Participation to Il Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival.
- Two weeks of accommodation (food and travel expenses are not covered).
APPLICATION FOR MASTERCLASS 2026 : Open
IFA Masterclass Structure
30 international talents will be divided into three categories: 10 Directors, 10 DOPs & 10 Assistant Directors.
10 Filmmakers will write their script before they arrive to Bologna.
The participants will have access to the local actors’ book and the locations’ book, in order to make their creative choices match the beautiful setting of Bologna.
One online meeting with IFA Master Teacher will be organize before the beginning of the IFA Masterclass in Filmmaking in Bologna.
JUNE 25TH – JULY 7TH: THE IFA MASTERCLASS
1st WEEK: IFA Master Teachers will shares his experience, aesthetic and approach and dives deep into his cinematographic practice. All the participants are involved, and each talent will have the opportunity to nurture their own authorial and professional vision.
2nd WEEK: shooting and editing of 10 short films in various locations around Bologna. The IFA participants will be supported by Italian emerging professionals who will serve as location managers, and production assistants as a crew, assisting all participants.
10 short films will be premiere at the Cinema Lumière in Bologna on the last day of the Masterclass.
