Enrollment open from May 26 for citizen-oriented course 'Make Your Own Film With a Smartphone'
Director Yasuda Junichi of 'Samurai Timeslip,' winner of 7 Japan Academy Prize categories, to lead master class
The Seoul Business Agency (SBA), led by CEO Kim Hyun-woo, has launched a full lineup of tailored education programs for filmmakers and Seoul residents at Seoul Film Center, the city's new hub for the film industry.
The programs are organized into three tracks for distinct audiences: the Professional Track, aimed at working film professionals seeking fresh inspiration in a rapidly evolving production landscape; the Creator Track, a creative skills program for aspiring filmmakers looking to break into the industry; and the Cinephile Track, a citizen-participation program for film enthusiasts.
The first program to launch is the Cinephile Track course "Make Your Own Film With a Smartphone," a citizen-oriented workshop beginning June 20 in the multipurpose room on the seventh floor of Seoul Film Center.
The course runs for eight sessions over four months, from June through September. The opening sessions on June 20 and 27 will focus on the planning and development stage — the first step in filmmaking. Centered on the theme "A Scene from Seoul," participants will use their smartphones to produce a short film, working through every stage from concept and shooting to editing in a hands-on workshop format.
Active industry professionals — including directors, assistant directors and cinematographers — will serve as instructors, teaching the fundamentals of cinematography, scene composition and basic editing. A screening where participants share their finished films will follow the course.
The program is open to any resident with an interest in filmmaking. Enrollment runs from May 26 through June 7 via the Seoul Film Center website.
The Professional Track will feature a director's master class with Yasuda Junichi, director of "Samurai Timeslip," the blockbuster that took Japan's box office by storm, on June 23.
"Samurai Timeslip" follows a samurai from the Edo period who time-slips onto a film set and becomes a specialist actor in beheading scenes — a comic yet moving story. Made on an ultra-low budget of 26 million yen (about $163,000), the film surpassed 1 billion yen at the Japanese box office and swept seven categories at the 48th Japan Academy Prize.
The master class will include a screening of the film followed by a lecture by Yasuda, who will share his firsthand experience across development, direction and production and discuss how a low-budget genre film can achieve high quality and build a strong following.
The Creator Track, designed to strengthen the creative skills of aspiring filmmakers, is set to begin in July. The course uses generative AI — one of the hottest topics in the film industry — to guide participants through the entire production process, from planning and direction to sound and editing, culminating in a personal video portfolio.
The six-session curriculum covers LLM-based storytelling and screenplay writing, generative AI-assisted visualization, storyboard creation, hands-on video production and sound direction. A screening of completed works and one-on-one feedback sessions will also be held.
Moon Gu-seon, head of the Creative Industries Division at the Seoul Business Agency, said the center had prepared a diverse range of programs "to help filmmakers build practical skills in a rapidly changing media environment and to give citizens more opportunities to engage with film culture." He added that the agency would continue to provide full support so that Seoul Film Center can serve as a reliable anchor for the film industry.
The tailored education programs at Seoul Film Center are scheduled to run from June through October. Full details on each course and instructions for applying are available on the Seoul Film Center website.
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