Advanced Master in Film Studies

Cinema is an essential part of twentieth- and twenty-first-century thought and culture. It questions the theories and subjects taught in literature, philosophy, history...

The master's specialization in cinematic cultures and thought offers a resolutely transdisciplinary approach to cinema.

Anchored in studies of philosophy, history and literature, this program gives you access to cinematic cultures and the keys to understanding and analyzing films.

• What links does cinema have with art forms, social movements, representations of reality?
• What are its interactions with the teaching of French, history, languages...?
• How can it, more broadly, initiate and nurture reflection on the world, past, present and even future?

• develop your technical, economic, political, social and artistic knowledge of the history of cinema;
• master film theories, theories of art and literary theories related to cinema;
• understand philosophical theories of cinema;
• adopt a scientific and transdisciplinary approach to analyzing film productions ;
• interpret a film production in relation to the social, cultural, linguistic context in which it was produced and disseminated;
• communicate the results of unpublished research orally, in writing and via digital media;
• produce an analysis on an audiovisual medium.

• unprecedented anchoring of the cinematic fact in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters;
• partners: a collaboration with the Université Saint-Louis-Bruxelles and Namur cinema players such as Ciné Caméo, les Grignoux and the Festival international du film francophone (FIFF);
• an adapted schedule compatible with the exercise of a professional activity;
• analytical and practical tools for teachers to enrich courses in literature, history, social sciences, humanities or citizenship education; for future researchers and, more broadly, for anyone with a passion for cinema;
• a team of accessible teachers;
• experience in research and training around cinema.

The Master of Specialization in Cinematic Cultures and Thought, co-organized with Université Saint-Louis-Bruxelles, is taught entirely on the UNamur campus.

This program covers the major developments in the history of cinema and the formal characteristics of contemporary cinema. Cinema's relationships with literature, philosophy and history are studied in separate courses, but also in transdisciplinary seminars that will cross-fertilize the contributions of the various courses and pave the way for a personal, original piece of work to be defended as part of the dissertation.

Throughout your training, you'll acquire a diverse film culture (from Hollywood blockbusters to auteur films, from fiction to documentary). Through the prism of cinema, you will revisit narrative theories, aesthetic canons, currents of thought, historical events... You will sharpen your eye and your critical spirit with regard to audiovisual documents which, in a "society of the image", often induce a strong illusion of transparency. You develop expertise in the field of film analysis, thanks to the contextualization and close observation of past and present cinematographic forms.

The Specialized Master's Degree in Film Cultures and Thought is designed for teachers wishing to integrate cinema into their courses, professionals involved in the fields of education and culture, and students interested in research in the field of film studies...

Courses are held from mid-September to the end of June on:

• Tuesdays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• daytime Wednesdays

As this specialization master's program is aimed in particular at working professionals, it may be possible to consider a lighter schedule to spread the program over two academic years.

• April 26, 2023: "Déjà vu. Essai sur le retard de la création au cinéma" - seminar on Laurent Van Eynde's book. Find out more
• November 8 and 9, 2022: Cinematic forms of history- interdisciplinary approaches. International colloquium organized by the Master of Specialization in Cinematic Cultures and Thought. Find out more
• May 3, 2022: "Soy Cuba" (1964) - study day on Mikhail Kalatozov's film. Find out more

Several research approaches are integrated into the Master of Specialization in Cinematic Cultures and Thought.

Publications related to the Master of Specialization

• Laurent Van Eynde, Déjà vu. Essai sur le retard de la création au cinéma, Vrin, 2022.
• Laurent Gilson, Images asilaires Essai sur les rapports entre l'asile psychiatrique et le cinéma, Presses universitaires Saint-Louis, 2024.
• Sébastien Laoureux and Laurent Van Eynde, "Soy Cuba" by Mikhail Kalatozov, Lyon, Presses universitaires de Lyon, 2024 (forthcoming).
• Laurent Van Eynde, Une île battue par les vents. Sur le cinéma de Roman Polanski, Bruxelles, La Lettre Volée, 2025 (forthcoming).

Doctoral research in progress by former students of the master's specialization

• Erika Meda, Le cinéaste, l'œuvre et le tiers. Vers une conceptualisation des enjeux collaboratifs dans le cadre du processus de création cinématographique, Art et sciences de l'art, co-tutelle INSAS (promoter: Laurent Van Lancker) et UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles (promoter: Laurent Van Eynde).
• Samuel Janssen, Cartographie de la narration dans l'oeuvre de Raoul Ruiz : entre cinéma et littérature, Langues, lettres et traductologie, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles (promoters: Laurent Van Eynde and Isabelle Ost).