No one survives school
(or the industry) alone.
You don’t come here just to get your projects off the ground; you come to find your team. ESCAC is that dining hall filled with exhausted laughter after an endless shoot, the relieved embrace when you hand in an assignment, and the classmates who put a production together for you in five minutes.
AEAE was created precisely for that: to be your safety net. We’re the structure that supports you from the day you first step onto campus until you find your place in the professional industry. Collaboration, creativity and growing together.
Our Origins
It all began with seeing the reality faced by international students. Arriving from abroad can be daunting: finding a place to live, wrestling with paperwork and dealing with the loneliness of not knowing anyone, all while the school expects you to perform at the highest level on shoots. We were created to offer a helping hand and help you find your way around the city.
But it didn’t take us long to realise something important: the need for support isn’t limited to those who come from far away. The pressure, self-imposed expectations and uncertainty affect us all equally. So what began as a support group for newcomers became the umbrella that now protects and empowers every generation at the school.
Our Mission
We serve as a direct bridge between students and the school. We organise educational, artistic and recreational activities so that we can meet, participate and grow together.
The aim is to promote projects that reflect our diverse identity and encourage creativity in all its forms.
Our Vision
We want to help you find your place in the professional world. We aim to make the most of the school’s opportunities, connections and prestige to inspire and connect future generations of creators. We’ll be your safety net in the job market.
The Values That Define Us
- Collaboration: No one creates alone in cinema.
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
- Creativity: The driving force for solving any problem
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
- Diversity: We need every perspective
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
- Commitment: Loyal to our own
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
- Respect: A safe environment for experimenting
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
- Collective leadership: Horizontal working, without a single voice
- We believe collaboration is the essential foundation of every film project. A film’s success is always the triumph of the entire team.
Our Initiatives and Projects
Building COMMUNITY
The programme is divided into different courses that offer a basic introduction to Audiovisual Narrative through a practical and fun approach focused on creating projects annually and
Parties and Social Gatherings
At AEAE, we also put on parties: the start-of-year party, the Sitges party, the end-of-year party… They’re the perfect excuse to meet people from other years, have fun and build community.
- The Start-of-Year Party
- A welcome event designed to welcome new students. We want to make it easier for you to settle in so that you feel part of the ESCAC family from the very first minute.
- The Gathering at the Sitges Festival
- We make the most of this international festival as the setting for a major celebration. It’s the perfect meeting point for students and alumni at the heart of the world of genre cinema.
- The End-of-Year Party
- A chance to celebrate everything achieved during the year. It’s time to say goodbye to the graduates and celebrate the immense effort involved in a whole year of shoots.
Culture, Industry and Outreach
Projects created to connect with the professional sector, encourage social debate and find real inspiration beyond the walls of the studio.
- Film club and film screenings with discussions and distinguished guests
- We have revitalised the classic film club format, turning it into a space for rigorous criticism and social debate. Every month, we organise themed screenings to address pressing contemporary issues, from the conflict in Palestine to feminist perspectives in cinema. But the experience doesn’t end with the credits: each series includes open discussions with directors, producers and guest professionals who bring real industry debate directly to our campus.
- ESCAC Afternoons: Memory and the Archive
- A project led by Irene Roig, built on a simple premise: we need to look back to understand the present and shape the future. Through a series of gatherings, we explore historical memory by rediscovering iconic short films, feature films and student projects by former students. We take a curatorial approach to analysing the school’s technical and narrative evolution, connecting new generations with the immense cinematic legacy of those who came before you.
- ESCAC Podcast: The Voice of the Audiovisual World
- A space for sharing and conversation, lasting an hour and a half, that brings you closer to the experiences and perspectives of people already working in the sector. But it’s more than an interview programme; it’s hands-on filming practice. Students work together to produce each episode, taking on cinematography, lighting, art direction, sound and directing. Technical learning, collective creation and networking—all in one format.
- Cultural trips and discovering the local area
- To make good films, you first have to get out and observe the world. We organise regular outings away from the studio to find inspiration and help students—especially international students—discover the area’s landscape and cultural richness. We plan routes through Girona or Vic to explore on location the settings of global productions such as Game of Thrones, or head to Andorra to take on the technical challenge of measuring the dazzling light on the snow. Cultural tourism combined with pure location analysis.
- Industry and Networking
- Talent is no use if you can’t connect it with opportunity. The association acts as a direct facilitator of professional opportunities. We organise meetups with alumni who are working in the industry, run workshops on how to navigate the real-world job market, and draw on our agreements with organisations such as LatFilmFest, Casa América and the Associació de Festivals de Catalunya to open doors to the industry.
Our Founding Team
The association wouldn’t exist without this team, a true reflection of the international, multidisciplinary mix found in the school’s corridors.
Nicole Reyes Lugo
An alumna of the Master’s in Production who came from the Dominican Republic. She firmly believes in cinema as a driver of social impact, and her own experience of adapting inspired the idea to create this association.
Natalia Baba
A Polish alumna of the Master’s in Production with extensive experience in the European market. Her focus here is clear: forging strong, direct connections between students and the professional world.
Victor H.L. Bruneau
A French-Italian alumnus of the Master’s programmes in Film Studies and Production. He’s the glue that holds the team together: his role is to connect people, departments and different generations.
Jhovan Lara
Our senior member from Mexico, with over a decade of experience in the industry and postgraduate studies in Film Business. He brings the strategic vision needed to ensure the sustainability of projects.
Martí Garriga
Of Catalan origin, he is the association’s heartbeat, gathering first-hand the concerns and needs of undergraduate students, as well as being the mind behind the ambitious PODCAST ESCAC.
Irene Roig
Of Valencian origin, she joins the association with the proposal “TARDES DE LA ESCAC”, which aims to be a collective project that includes members of the community.
Gael García
A Mexican student on the Master’s in Film Studies with previous experience in television. He is the association’s creative director, responsible for audiovisual materials, still photography and social media.
Organisation
We steer clear of old-fashioned hierarchies. We work with a horizontal model designed to let any member of the school take an active part.
- Coordinating Committee
- We don’t impose decisions unilaterally. This committee simply acts as a facilitator, ensuring projects make sense logistically, financially and in terms of communication.
- Open Assemblies
- The association’s true democratic heart. We hold these assemblies regularly so all students can put forward new ideas, discuss the direction we’re taking and let new leaders emerge.
- Temporary Committees and Working Groups
- When there’s an event to organise or a podcast to film, we set up volunteer working groups. It’s a direct way to get involved in carrying out specific projects in the area you’re most passionate about.
How to Join and Sign Up
Joining the association is simple, open, inclusive and completely free for any member of the ESCAC community.
1
Attend and take part
The most direct way to join is to come to our Open Assemblies. You’re not here to listen; you’re here to speak: your voice and ideas are essential.
2
Join ongoing projects
We’re always looking for people willing to contribute their talent to teams already at work. You can get involved in anything from podcast lighting to event logistics.
3
Propose your own initiative
If you think a specific workshop is needed or have a clear idea for building community, tell us about it. We have the infrastructure in place to help make it happen.
4
Official channels (and corridors)
Follow us on social media and subscribe to the newsletters so you don’t miss any announcements. Or, even better, stop us in the school corridors—we’re always ready to listen.
The future is ours.
We’re waiting for you.
We were founded to build bridges between classrooms and professional sets, connecting those who dream of making their first film with those whose work is already screening at major festivals. We want the school to remain a technical benchmark, but where human qualities and the strength of the COMMUNITY matter even more.
We invite you to become part of our story.
We invite you to make films together.
