Workshops
Daily instructor-led intensive sessions.
Blocking
The art of the movement, or lack of movement, of subject in relation to camera. Using clips and tips, and with short exercises, participants will examine the various approaches and artistry of blocking out a fictional scene
Doc & Hybrid Forms
Explore nonfiction practices that blur the boundaries between observation, performance, archive, and fiction, expanding documentary as a creative and critical way of making films.
Mise-en-scène
How do directors create their own style? How do past styles inspire new generations, from Ozu to Jarmsuch or Leone to Tarantino? To this end, we will look at how directors use light, color, wardrobe, hair & makeup, composition, art direction, aspect ratio, and acting styles to tell a story and reference pre-existing genres.
Rough Stuff: Raw Footage, and What No One Else Sees
Using actual films and footage, participants will look at the evolution, pitches, and prep of a project, through rough cuts, mistakes, surprises and happy accidents that no one else sees of a finished film. A great way to see what is actually shot and how it’s manipulated.
Previz
The art of imagining a project before it exists.
Getting it Made & Getting it Out
How to make your film. At all costs. [Can’t stop, won’t stop!] And what are some things you can do with it when you’re done.
Exercises & Activities
Individual creativity and group collaboration.
Exquisite Corpse Filmmaking
A 15 minute film, which will include a one minute segment directed and edited by each participant. This method, invented by the Surrealists, collectively assembles a group of short pieces of writing or images into a single work of art. Creating our own tradition, the film will be screened on the last evening of the retreat.
Pitching
Over the course of the retreat Neal and Mika will pitch past or future projects. Some participants might try their hand at a no-pressure group pitch as well!
Screening & Discussions
We'll watch a bunch of films. Our discussions will range from Q&As with the filmmakers themselves, to why we’ve found these films to be inspiring and exciting, to how they’re relevant to the workshops.
Daily Meditation Sessions
Using meditation to unlock creativity, connect to your unconscious, and improve your intuition.
Visiting Filmmakers
Award-winning filmmakers will bring their unique perspectives on creativity, production and festivals.
The visiting filmmakers are one of the most wonderful parts of Wandering Cinema!
Elene Naveriani
Tbilisi, Georgia - Geneva, Switzerland
Elene Naveriani, a Georgian director based between Tbilisi and Geneva, graduated from Tbilisi State Academy of Art in 2003 with a degree in monumental painting. In their work they create a space which centers the types of stories that are often untold about the types of characters who are often overlooked. Their first two features - I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH (2017) and WET SAND (2021) - premiered at Rotterdam and Locarno respectively, and each work received multiple awards for their bold storytelling and sensitive performances.
Most recently, BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY premiered to much acclaim at Cannes Director's Fortnight in 2023. The film also won the Swiss Film Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Editing. We're so thrilled to have Elene joining us for the 2026 edition of Wandering Cinema! When we saw BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY it totally blew us away - how often do you see this kind of protagonist in cinema, treated so thoughtfully and lovingly, with real desire running throughout? (The answer is almost never). Elene's film is beautifully blocked and painstakingly observed. We can't wait to see it again and to hear more about the process of creating it.Second Visiting Filmmaker
To be announced
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