BAAD – Israel

In 1903, the Jewish Zionist Congress decided to found "Bezalel - The School of Handcrafts" in Jerusalem. Ever since its opening in 1906, Bezalel has been the most prominent academy of fine arts, design and architecture in Israel. - Bezalel now offers a four-year diploma program in film, video and new media. The unit sees itself as an alternative to traditional plot-driven films and to movies as a medium of mass communication. The curriculum consists of working with documentaries, video art, experimental films and new media. Cinematography is seen as an instrument of artistic expression, eliminating the distinction between writer and director. Films are to be created by artists who controls the technology of the medium and use it to express feelings, thoughts and ideas, while making a statement of a social, personal, political, critical, cultural and artistic significance and validity. The curriculum covers a broad spectrum: the fundamentals of cinematic language, direction and editing, photography and lighting, sound, soundtrack design, drawing and sculpture, creative writing, script, screen design, computer, video art, editing software, AVID, installations, performance art, experimental and documentary films. The curriculum also includes theoretical studies in affiliation with the History and Theory Unit.