A taste of what's to come

If you’re a filmmaker that lacks experience in any of the professions listed above,  then I want you to ask yourself one question – are you a rogue? It’s not often one gets to include ‘shoplifting conviction’ or ‘trek through the Congo’ on their CV, but now’s the time to shake your brain and pick out some of those past experiences that really make you who you are. And that certainly doesn’t include the I.T training course you took back in 1998. Such applications will be burnt on arrival.

Before your eyes begin to roll, I can assure you this isn’t a callout for the latest reality TV programme. No, it’s a few of the requirements listed for Rogue Film School, a new weekend-long film seminar taught by king of the rogues, Werner Herzog. Refreshingly, this isn’t another course in ‘how to make a film’. In fact, it includes no practical element at all. Instead, it’s a call to arms for creatives to come together and share ideas in a bid to stimulate their minds and forge new films. As quoted on the website, ‘The Rogue Film School is about a way of life. It is about a climate, the excitement that makes film possible. It will be about poetry, films, music, images, literature.’ Despite residing in the Hollywood Hills, Herzog remains resiliant to popular L.A lifestyle choices, promising that ‘ There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth’, and with a reading list that includes Virgil and Hemmingway, RFS feels like the kind of course that might expand one’s mind to the point of combustion.

Before you get too excited, I must point out that the seminar does take place in Los Angeles. However, there’s still time to forge a plan if you’re based in the UK. RFS will be running from 8 – 10 January 2010, and deadlines for submissions aren’t until November 13. Full details can be found here.

If you’re lucky enough to get one of these spots, do let me know. We’d love to hear all about it.