Cameraman Days 2025: Space for young filmmakers
14. May 2025At the beginning of May, students of the the Audiovisual Arts Studio again participated in the Cameraman Days – a creative meeting that connects young filmmakers from Czech universities. The event is organised by the Kamera Oko collective in cooperation with the Institute of Film Production at SUO, the Audiovisual Production Studio at the FMC TBU and the Film Studies Department of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.
The programme of the Cameraman Days was divided into theoretical and practical parts. For the passive audience, screenings and masterclasses were prepared – this year, for example, commented screenings of films by cinematographer Stanislav Adam. The active participants then had an intensive workshop where they analysed their own film exercises in detail.
The task for the practical part was clear: two characters, seven cameras, a dramatic situation and a change of dominance between the characters. The emphasis is primarily on the camerawork – even under limited conditions. The finished work will be screened publicly in November 2025 at the International Cameraman Festival Kamera Oko in Ostrava and in February 2026 as part of the film awards programme of the Association of Czech Cinematographers.
The head of the studio, Irena Pustina Kocí, appreciates the fact that the event takes place outside the capital city: “I appreciate the fact that Jakub Felcman is organising the Cameraman Days outside Prague for several reasons – I see the attitude that decentralisation and the transfer of attention to other university audiovisual studies in Zlín and Opava is universally beneficial as key. It is as far from Zlín or Opava to Prague as it is from Prague to us.”
Photo: Lukáš Jalůvka, ÚFTaRT SUO Opava
The Cameraman Days are just one example of the intensive cooperation between UTB Zlín and the Silesian University in Opava. The two institutions regularly co-produce films, participate in the professional conference Proměny dramaturgie, the eighth edition of which will take place this autumn, and jointly participate in the International Student DokuKonference.
These inter-school connections confirm that quality film education and dialogue between schools does not have to be a matter of the Prague centre alone. The Cameraman Days are proof that an exceptional space for the growth of a new generation of audiovisual creators is also emerging outside the metropolis.