Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- As part of the European Film Festival 2023, the European Union, together with the FOCUS School of Film and Theatre launched the EU-FOCUS FILM CAMP project. A specially designed free educational module for teenagers is funded by the European Union. It combines classes on topics such documentary, animation, directing, photography, painting, music, film history, drama, producing, cinematography, filmmaking, literature, teamwork, sound engineering, journalism, editing and others.

The goal of the project is to improve of the education quality in the field of cinema and theatre among the young generation of Uzbekistan.

The free educational course started this summer on a daily basis and continues now - in the fall on weekends. In addition to theoretical classes in workshops, classrooms and plain-airs, the program includes the film screenings, meeting with domestic and foreign experts, as well as the laboratory filming practice on location.

The group included teenagers from 10 to 16 years old who had successfully completed the Sunday Film School program and the summer film camp of the FOCUS School of Film and Theatre from 2021 to 2023, inclusive.

Since the project is included in the small grant aggregator system of International Laboratory Creativity FOCUS GRAVITY HUB, children who successfully completed the programme, will be able to continue their studies  at the FOCUS School of Film and Theatre for free  even after the end of the project.

In recent years, the European Film Festival has covered seven regions of Uzbekistan, captivating 20,000 spectators with 90 films from 20 European countries. It also continues to attract both the professional audience and those who are just starting their journey into the world of cinematography, to the cinematic art of the European Union countries in the format of educational programs, master classes and meetings with European experts. Thus, in 2019 the Latvian director and documentary screenwriter, Dainis Klava conducted a series of master classes on documentary cinema  with students of the STATE institute of Art and Culture of Uzbekistan in Tashkent and Nukus, as well as for  students of the FOCUS School. Continuing this tradition, in 2020, the film laboratory for the production of documentary films, EU-FOCUS accepted more than 450 applications, of which 45 participants were selected, 6 documentaries were shot. Experts were involved in the project - famous documentary directors from Poland and Uzbekistan. This year, as part of EU-FOCUS FILM CAMP, a meeting with European representatives of the film industry is planned for the end of autumn.