In this seminar we will explore filmmaking as a form of magical practice from a media philosophical approach. What parallels can be drawn? How do cinematic techniques function like occult practices that alter perception, create realities, and transform consciousness? 

Inspired by Vilém Flusser’s reflections on the camera as a “magical apparatus” and the “magical character of the image”, we will investigate how the processes of filmmaking – from editing and cinematography to screenwriting and directing – can be interpreted as magical practices with their own rituals and rules. Is the screenplay a spellbook that shapes visions? Are the director’s instructions a magic spell? Is the camera an instrument that channels energy? 

The seminar combines theoretical reflection, collective screenings, and practical exercises with 16mm. A key component is a five-day study trip to Gutshof Sauen in Brandenburg, where we will intensively work on these questions and develop our own analogue cinematic spells. 

This seminar is for anyone interested in experimental approaches and exploring the unknown, intuitive, and mystical aspects of analogue filmmaking practice. 

Dates:

Introductory Sessions:

Thursday, April 23, 2026, 2:00–5:00 PM

Thursday, May 21, 2026, 2:00–5:00 PM

Location: GRU 129 

Study Trip – Gutshof Sauen:

Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12, 2025, full-day with overnight stay

Location: Gutshof Sauen, Zum Anger 8, 15848 Rietz-Neuendorf 

Final Session:

Thursday, July 2, 2026, 2:00–5:00 PM Location: GRU 129 

Certificate: künstlerisch/gestalterisch und technisch (3 SWS) 

Participants: max. 20 

Language: German / English 

Registration: By e-mail in advance to: s.labis@udk-berlin.de 

Notes: Meals during the stay at Begegnungsstätte Gutshof Sauen (approx. €50) must be covered by participants and paid on-site in cash. 

Literature: 

Deren, M. (1946). An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Form and Film. New York: Film Culture. 

De Campagna, F. (2019). Mysticism and Media: Rituals in Contemporary Art. Milan: Mousse Publishing. 

Flusser, V. (2000). Towards a Philosophy of Photography. London: Reaktion Books. 

Flusser, V. (2011). Into the Universe of Technical Images. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.