Overview

In this immersive, in-person course, you will complete a 5-10 minute self-shot documentary from start to finish. You will be encouraged and supported to discover and express your own response to the world around you, explore authorship, form, character, emotion, and much more.

WHAT: An intensive, full time 7-week short course in which an international body of students will complete a documentary short film.

WHERE: In person. UCL East, Marshgate Building, 7 Sidings St, London E20 2AE & occasionally central London. 

WHEN: Monday 23rd June to Friday 8th August 2025.

WHO: Run by UCL tutor and professional filmmaker, Katharine Round.

COMMITMENT: Weeks 1-3: 10 AM – 5 PM. Weeks 4-7: flexible. Friday 8th August: Film screening.

WHAT YOU GET: 3 weeks contact time with tutors, filmmakers and an edit tutor. A thorough grounding in what it takes to make a documentary, both in theory and practice, 6 weeks of full access to camera kit, and 7 week full access to edit software and edit rooms.

HOW MUCH: General: £2,190.00 Student/Concession: £2,040 UCL Students: £1,970.

BURSARIES: This course will offer bursary places. Deadline 30th April. More info coming soon.

AGES: 18+

For more information and to book, please visit the Open City website.

Course description

Want to make a documentary but don’t know where to start? Or do you have experience, but want hands-on guidance through the process of making your short documentary? This intensive, practice-led summer school led by acclaimed documentary makers Katharine Round and Penny Woolcock gives you the practical, critical and theoretical skills to make your film.

In this immersive course, taught across our UCL East and central London Bloomsbury campus, you will complete a 5-10 minute self-shot documentary from start to finish. You will be encouraged and supported to discover and express your own response to the world around you, explore authorship, form, character, emotion, and much more.

For the first three weeks the course is full-time face-to-face teaching Monday to Friday. You will go through a series of practical exercises to build the technical and analytical skills needed to complete a documentary film project: to produce, direct, shoot and edit. In addition, we look at the art of filmmaking and students have the chance to learn from some of the most respected names in the industry through several guest lectures.

You will then be guided over the final 4 weeks to complete your film with professional camera and sound equipment, provided for the duration of the course.  During this period, you will also benefit from access to UCL’s advanced editing suites. The required commitment following the core course teaching is a one-on-one meeting in weeks four and five with the course tutors to support the making of your film. These meetings can be done in person or remotely. In week six,  you will screen your rough cut. Finally, on the last day, all participants see their work on the big screen.

Throughout the Summer Film School, participants will be challenged to experiment with their voice and to start or invigorate their artistic filmmaking practice while receiving structure and support to guide them through completing a project. Now in its 8th year, this renowned summer course has helped launch the careers of many emerging filmmakers, with films developed and created on the course selected for festivals worldwide. Previous participants have described the course as “a life changing experience” and “one of the best things I’ve ever done”.

You will be provided with camera and sound equipment for the duration of the course. Please note you will need to bring two external hard-drives with you.

The Summer Film School does not offer academic accreditation, but you can be offered a letter of enrolment and a letter on completion. You are expected to organise your own travel or visa arrangements. Please read more info on UCL’s policies HERE.

Who this course is for

The course is suitable for:

• those completely new to filmmaking or with some experience.

Cost

The standard course fee is £2,190.

The following discounts are also available:

• Students: £2,040
• UCL students: £1970

Summer school bursary places (deadline to apply 30th April)

The Summer School offers 2x bursary places.
Four Boroughs Bursary (Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest)
This bursary is reserved for those who can evidence living in one of the four boroughs: Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest.
What is it?         
A free place on one of our short courses, subsidised by UCL’s department of Anthropology.
Who is it for?
Someone living in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest, who would benefit from a subsidised place on the Summer School. We encourage those from low socio-economic backgrounds to apply.
How do I apply?
To apply for a bursary place, please complete this form, where you will be asked to provide evidence for your research/project.
SUBMIT APPLICATION FORM

Universal Credit Bursary

This bursary is reserved for those who have the goal to create a practical film project, and who also can evidence receiving Universal Credit (or equivalent state benefit).
What is it?  
A free place on one of our short courses, subsidised by UCL’s department of Anthropology.
Who is it for?
Someone in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent state benefit for their home country, who has a goal to create a practical film project.
How do I apply?
Submit an application form here and provide evidence that you are in receipt of UC (or equivalent).
SUBMIT APPLICATION FORM
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If you still have other questions relating to a specific course or request, please get in touch with us via emailing shortcourses@opencitylondon.com
or call us at +44 20 3108 7586

Certificates and assessment

The Summer Film School does not offer academic accreditation, but you can be offered a letter of enrolment and a letter on completion. You are expected to organise your own travel or visa arrangements. 

Contact

If you have questions please consult our new FAQs page before contacting us.
We have also updated policies for course costs/concessions and bursaries, please see our Terms and conditions.

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Course team

Katharine Round

Katharine Round makes creative documentaries for broadcast & cinema exploring the essence of being human with warmth and humour. Her work is variously described as "tender and evocative" and “poignant and viscerally enraging”.

In 2016, she directed and produced the critically-acclaimed The Divide which had a successful theatrical release across the UK, followed by a US/UK release on Netflix. In 2017, she produced London Symphony, nominated for the Michael Powell Award at Edinburgh International Film Festival before a successful UK theatrical release including 3 special event performances with a live orchestra supported by Arts Council England, and a VOD release on BFI Player. She is currently working on a trilogy of films with support from EU MEDIA.

She has made films for the BBC and Channel 4, exhibited at leading international film festivals (including Sheffield Doc/Fest, IDFA ,CPH: DOX & Cork Film Festival), in galleries (the Serpentine, the Barbican Centre, V&A) and at the European Parliament in Brussels. Alongside Open City, Katharine has been a guest tutor and speaker at Sheffield Doc/Fest, BAFTA, Royal Holloway and the Roundhouse, amongst others. She is the co-founder of documentary filmmakers organisation Doc Heads, supporting documentary through curated events and screenings, with a focus on independent artistic work.

Course information last modified: 9 Apr 2025, 11:26