From September, the Bellver International College in Palma will become the first British school in Spain to offer film production as an option for the Baccalaureate. The audio-visual communication course will include possibilities to shoot a short film, visit film studios, meet professionals in the sector, and even help to decide the vote in the Goya Awards' categories.
Endorsed and examined by Cambridge University, the course coordinator and teacher is Marcos Cabota. Himself a former student at the college, Cabota is a member of Spain's Film Academy who has twice been nominated for a Goya.
The director of a dozen films, such as I Am Your Father (with Toni Bestard), Cabota says that after two years of study, students "will have the feeling of having worked in the film industry, because they will know exactly how it works".
He explains that "we are experiencing a boom in film creation, but as a director I find it difficult to find professionals". So the course will lead to various job opportunities, e.g. in production, as a camera technician or in makeup. Cabota looks forward to the possibility of working with his students in the future.
The director of the college, Vincent Déperrois, says that this subject is part of a development plan to enhance the overall education on offer. "We want to be a benchmark within Spain and abroad. For this, we must respond to the needs of the new generations and booming industries."
About the college, he says that it is "small and humble", but that it is precisely this that allows the offer of a more "personalised" education.