Direct Cinema : Second Ateliers Varan in Bangkok 2026

Event date: From June 09 2026 To September 27 2026
For a fee: No

Following the success of the first edition, the Thai Film Archive and the Thai Film Foundation renewed their collaboration with Ateliers Varan to create a long-term educational initiative. This gave rise, in the summer of 2026, to the documentary workshop in the Nang Loeng neighborhood.

The 10-week workshop was organized with the support of the Department of Cultural Promotion (Ministry of Culture), the Embassy of France, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bangkok, Rai Cinema, and the local community.

Ateliers Varan was established to guide young directors in discovering their own directorial voice. The goal is to create space for a new generation of filmmakers eager to explore freer storytelling forms capable of interpreting the country’s social, urban, and cultural transformations through direct, unfiltered contact with reality.

Under the guidance of director Daniele Incalcaterra, the program centers on a practice where the filmmaker’s perspective emerges from immediate engagement with their surroundings. Rooted in the Direct Cinema tradition—pioneered by masters such as Jean Rouch and Frederick Wiseman—this approach turns real-world storytelling into a vibrant cultural act, bringing cinema closer to society and making the camera, first and foremost, an instrument for listening.

Project Programme

June 9: Applications opened for workshop participants.

June 30: Announcement of first-round shortlisted candidates

July 4–5: Interviews conducted with shortlisted candidates, with instructor Daniele Incalcaterra personally conducting the interviews.

July 6: Announcement of the 15 selected participants.

July 22 – September 26: Advanced Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Through the Lens of Direct Cinema

The training is divided into 3 phases:

Phase 1: Scriptwriting and Technical Practice — Learning Direct Cinema theory, developing story concepts, and practicing camera and sound techniques through foundational exercises with one-on-one feedback from the instructor.

Phase 2: On-Site Shooting — Field filming in buddy pairs (alternating roles between cinematography and sound recording).

Phase 3: Editing and Finalizing Projects — Learning structural editing processes, subtitling, and international-standard audio mixing.

In the programme two masterclasses are open to the general public:

1st Masterclass: Masterclass on Sound – July 24

by Pascal Deux & Mariana Otero

Screening program featuring films by both instructors at the Thai Film Archive

2nd Masterclass: Masterclass on Documentary Editing: The Logics of Storytelling – September 2

This will take place on at the Thai Film Archive. Reservations can be made via the link

As for the final showcase screening of the completed works, it is tentatively scheduled for September 27 (Venue to be announced).

Insights

Daniele Incalcaterra

Biography

Daniele Incalcaterra is an Italian director, producer, and trainer. Born in Rome, he lived for many years across France, Italy, and Latin America. After studying engineering and working as a mathematics and physics teacher in Buenos Aires, he dedicated himself to photography, producing photo reportages in several African countries. Between 1984 and 1985, he trained in documentary filmmaking at Ateliers Varan in Paris, where he later became a member and instructor.

As a director, he has created numerous documentaries in Europe and Latin America, paying particular attention to social struggles, political memory, environmental conflicts, and the defense of territories. His films include Chapare, Place Rouge, Terre d’Avellaneda, Repubblica nostra, Solo d’amour, and FaSinPat – Fábrica sin patrón. Together with Fausta Quattrini, he co-directed Contr@site, El Impenetrable, and Chaco. His films have been screened and awarded at numerous international festivals; in 2015, the Filmmaker Festival in Milan dedicated a retrospective to his work.

Alongside his filmmaking career, for over thirty years he has conducted documentary cinema workshops in various countries, collaborating notably with Ateliers Varan. He has led and accompanied training programs in France, Italy, Portugal, Colombia, Brazil, the Central African Republic, and Thailand, passing on a practice of direct cinema rooted in observation, listening, and relationships with the people filmed.

Since 2017, he has worked on developing cinema in the Central African Republic, where he helped establish the Ateliers Varan in Bangui and co-founded Makongo Films, the country’s first film production company. As a producer, he has supported a new generation of Central African filmmakers. His production credits include Makongo by Elvis Sabin Ngaïbino (presented at Cinéma du Réel), Nous, étudiants! by Rafiki Fariala (the first Central African film selected for the Berlinale), and Congo Boy by the same director (presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026).

Essential Filmography as Director

Chapare (1989)

Place Rouge (1990)

Terre d’Avellaneda (1993)

Repubblica nostra (1995)

Solo d’amour (2001)

Contr@site (2003), with Fausta Quattrini

FaSinPat – Fábrica sin patrón (2004)

El Impenetrable (2012), with Fausta Quattrini

Chaco (2018), with Fausta Quattrini

Direct Cinema : Second Ateliers Varan in Bangkok 2026

Project Programme

Daniele Incalcaterra

Gallery

Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Bangkok

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Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Bangkok