Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 12, 2005. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
With an official anniversary event and more than 200 invited guests, the German Film School, Germany’s first and so far only private film university, celebrated the fifth anniversary of its teaching operations.
Representatives from politics and public life honored the Film School as a respected educational institution that supplements the state-funded higher education system. “The German Film School is innovative, modern, forward-looking; it provides new impulses for the state’s higher education system,” explained Andrea Ruyter-Petznek, advisor for fundamental issues of higher education at Brandenburg’s Ministry of Science.
The 55 graduates of the German Film School to date are proving themselves as comprehensively qualified “Diplom Digital Artists” in entertainment markets. More than 40 prizes and awards for the university productions – including many at DIGITAL PRODUCTION’s animago AWARD – signal, from the Film School’s point of view, the high standard of the degree programme, which is unique across Europe.
University President Prof. Dr. Bernd Willim announced the creation of a series of new, additional degree programmes within the next two years during the anniversary celebration. In addition to the establishment of EU-compliant Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes for the “Digital Artist,” plans include a postgraduate Master’s degree programme in “Character Design & Development” under the direction of Disney designer Harald Siepermann (“Tarzan”) as well as degree programmes in “Digital Arts” and “Virtual World Design.” The latter ties directly into the “Merkaba” research project officially launched in November 2004. Its goal is the development of personal high-performance simulators, for “immersive journeys” through virtual worlds of experience in real time.
In the long term, a complex of teaching, research and production is to be created around the Merkaba research project, making Elstal one of the most important locations for the emerging “Virtual Entertainment Industry.”
