EICTV (Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television)

Overview

The Escuela Internacional de Cine y Television (EICTV) is a residential film school in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Havana. Founded on December 15, 1986, by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Argentine filmmaker Fernando Birri, and Cuban filmmaker Julio Garcia Espinosa, EICTV operates under the Foundation for New Latin American Cinema. The school admits 6 students per specialization across 7 specializations, for a total of 42 students per cohort.

As of 2024, the school had graduated 1,094 students from 64 countries. The school receives approximately 300 visiting professors per year, all active professionals in their respective fields. Tuition is 6,000 EUR per year for students from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, and 9,000 EUR per year for students from other regions.

The campus is a self-contained residential community where students live and work for the full 3 years. This isolation from major urban centers is intentional. Students are immersed in filmmaking without the distractions of city life, and the residential model creates deep creative relationships among cohort members from different countries and cultures.

History

EICTV was founded on December 15, 1986, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Fernando Birri, and Julio Garcia Espinosa under the Foundation for New Latin American Cinema. The school was established to train filmmakers from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, regions where film industry infrastructure was still developing.

Key milestones include the school's founding with 140 initial students from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The school has graduated 1,094 students from 64 countries over nearly 40 years. The current regular course (Generation 31) runs 2025 to 2028. The school expanded offerings to include online workshops and short courses accessible to students who cannot travel to Cuba. The school sometimes opens extraordinary calls to fill vacant spots in specific specializations.

Programs Offered

• Regular Course (3 years, residential): The core program. Year 1 is "Polivalencia" (general training), where all students learn essentials of audiovisual creation across all departments. Years 2 and 3 are dedicated to specialization. The program concludes with a thesis project evaluated by an International Committee.

- Fiction Directing: 6 students per cohort

- Documentary Directing: 6 students per cohort

- Screenwriting: 6 students per cohort

- Production: 6 students per cohort

- Sound: 6 students per cohort

- Editing: 6 students per cohort

- Photography (Cinematography): 6 students per cohort

Once admitted, students cannot change specialization.

• Short Courses and Workshops: International workshops and master classes led by visiting filmmakers.
• Online Workshops: Expanded training programs accessible to students who cannot travel to Cuba.

Fiction Directing is typically the most competitive specialization, attracting the largest applicant pool. The school sometimes opens extraordinary calls for less-subscribed specializations like Editing and Screenwriting.

Notable Alumni and What They've Made

EICTV graduates work across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Rather than producing a small number of internationally famous directors, EICTV's impact is diffuse: graduates have built film industries, founded festivals, and trained subsequent generations in their home countries.

• Amir Aether Valen - Documentary filmmaker from Trinidad and Tobago, graduated from Generation 27. His thesis film While the Night Falls and other EICTV works screened at Sheffield DocFest, True/False, and Visions du Reel. Won multiple awards at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.
• Otavio Almeida - Brazilian filmmaker and cinematographer, specialized in documentary at EICTV. His short The Crossing had its world premiere at IDFA, and Los Ninos Lobo (The Wolf Kids) screened at Visions du Reel and FIPADOC.
• Armando Capo - Cuban filmmaker and coordinator of the Fiction Chair at EICTV. His thesis La Marea (2009) was featured in the school's 30th anniversary anthology.
• Maria del Mar Rosario - Puerto Rican filmmaker, made La Bonita (2018) as a student at EICTV, examining social pressure on women. Screened at IDFA.

Acceptance Rate

EICTV does not publish a formal acceptance rate. With 42 seats per cohort and applicants from over 60 countries, admission is competitive. The selection committee evaluates candidates based on creative potential, cultural level, technical skills, and life experience. Applicants must be aged 22 to 30 at the time of the entrance exam and have completed at least 2 years of higher education in any field.

Fiction Directing is the most competitive specialization. The school sometimes opens extraordinary calls to fill vacant spots in specific specializations, as happened for Editing in 2024 and Screenwriting in 2025.

Standout Faculty

EICTV does not maintain permanent professors. The school receives approximately 300 visiting professors per year, all active professionals in their respective fields. This model ensures the curriculum reflects current industry practice.

• Armando Capo - Cuban filmmaker, coordinator of the Fiction Chair at EICTV. His thesis film La Marea is part of the school's anthology.
• Fernando Birri (co-founder) - Argentine filmmaker, considered the father of the New Latin American Cinema movement. His influence shaped the school's orientation toward socially engaged filmmaking.
• Visiting professionals from Latin America, Europe, and Africa conduct workshops and mentor student productions throughout the 3-year program.

The rotating faculty model means students learn from a wide range of working professionals, gaining exposure to diverse cinematic traditions and production approaches.

Tuition / Aid Reality

Tuition for the Regular Course is structured by region:

• Students from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa: 6,000 EUR per year (18,000 EUR total for 3 years). This covers approximately 30% of the real cost per student. The Cuban state and EICTV's own revenue cover the remaining 70%.
• Students from other regions (North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania): 9,000 EUR per year (27,000 EUR total for 3 years). This covers approximately 50% of the real cost per student.

Payment is made in two installments per year. Tuition covers tuition, housing, meals, basic medical services, and access to production equipment and facilities. Many students receive scholarships from international cultural organizations, governments, and foundations to cover tuition costs. The Cuomo Foundation of Monaco has provided fully funded scholarships, as in the case of Amir Aether Valen from Trinidad and Tobago.

No federal loan eligibility applies. Aid depends on external scholarships and government sponsorships from students' home countries.

Facilities and Equipment

The campus is a self-contained residential community in San Antonio de los Banos. Facilities include:

• Production equipment for student films across all specializations
• Editing suites for post-production
• Sound recording and mixing facilities
• Screening rooms for student work
• Residential housing and dining facilities for all students
• Basic medical services on campus

Internet access is limited and expensive in Cuba, which affects research and communication with the outside world. Students should expect basic living conditions. The trade-off is an immersive, distraction-free environment where students form intense creative bonds with peers from across the Global South.

Student Film Examples

EICTV student and alumni work has screened at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, and regional festivals worldwide:

• La Marea (2009) - Thesis film by Armando Capo, featured in the school's 30th anniversary anthology
• La Bonita (2018) - Student documentary by Maria del Mar Rosario, screened at IDFA
• Los Ninos Lobo (The Wolf Kids) - Student film by Otavio Almeida, screened at Visions du Reel and FIPADOC
• The Crossing - Student short by Otavio Almeida, world premiere at IDFA
• While the Night Falls (2020) - Thesis film by Amir Aether Valen
• Pick Up the Wind (2017-2020) - Student film by Amir Aether Valen

The school's influence spreads across many countries rather than concentrating in a single national industry.

What Filmmakers Should Know

All instruction is in Spanish. Applicants must have sufficient Spanish proficiency to follow coursework and participate in productions. Students from non-Spanish-speaking countries receive language support, but the working language is Spanish.

EICTV is explicitly oriented toward training filmmakers from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The curriculum reflects the storytelling traditions and social realities of these regions. Students from North America and Western Europe can apply but should understand the school's orientation.

San Antonio de los Banos is a small town with limited infrastructure. Internet access is limited and expensive. The trade-off is an immersive, distraction-free environment where students form intense creative bonds with peers from across the Global South. EICTV's 1,094 graduates from 64 countries form a diffuse but extensive network, particularly valuable for filmmakers working in regions where film industry infrastructure is still developing. The key trade-off: affordable tuition and immersive residential training in exchange for basic living conditions and limited connectivity.

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See Also

For comparing film school ROI against self-taught paths, see Film School vs Self-Taught. To estimate total education costs including living expenses, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator. For industry placement rates at top film schools, see Best Industry Placement Rates.