ELO and the Black Nights Film Festival strengthen their partnership: A new “Atelier Week” kicks off
The most significant film event in the Baltic Sea region, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Ööde filmifestival, PÖFF), and Aalto University’s Department of Film ELO are strengthening their collaboration. This makes possible ELO’s new ‘Atelier Week’, an annual event week held in November that presents filmmaking from the perspectives of different professionals.
Atelier Week will bring several interesting international professionals to Finland. In addition to workshops aimed at students, the international guests will give masterclasses for a wider audience both at Cinema Sheryl on Otaniemi campus and at Korjaamo Kino Töölö.
International guests of Atelier Week 2026
Cinematographer Nic Sadler has developed film-industry tools (the Artemis Director’s Viewfinder and Helios applications) that are used by almost all contemporary cinematographers. In his masterclass he will reflect on how professional cinematography skills can be preserved in the age of artificial intelligence and how new tools for collaboration and pre-production planning can be utilised.
Production designer Inbal Weinberg is known, among other things, for the visual worlds of the films Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Suspiria. She is a founding member of the Production Designers Collective community. In her masterclass Weinberg will use her own work as examples through which she will delve into discussion on the role of the production designer in film production.
Cinematographer Julio Macat has been the director of photography on comedies including Home Alone, Ace Ventura, Pitch Perfect and Daddy’s Home. In his masterclass he will examine the different roles of the cinematographer and the future of filmmaking.
The masterclass by cinematographer Roberto Schaefer, known for films such as Finding Neverland and Quantum of Solace, offers an opportunity to explore his long career, his artistic and technical working methods, and his views on the future of cinematography. A particular topic is artificial intelligence: its challenges and opportunities in filmmaking.
‘Collaboration with the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival gives ELO a new opportunity to network with industry professionals, and in addition we can present top international experts to a wider audience here in Finland. The idea of Atelier Week is to showcase filmmaking from the perspectives of different professional groups and to discuss the new opportunities opening up for the film industry,’ says professor and cinematographer Rauno Ronkainen.
‘This supports ELO’s holistic educational aim: strong focus on content, leadership skills, analysis, technical expertise, and understanding of story and visual narration. The plan is that Atelier Week will take place annually during the Black Nights Film Festival so that we can energise discussion related to the film industry on both shores of the Gulf of Finland at the same time.’
The masterclasses are intended for students, industry professionals, and members of the Aalto community interested in film and audiovisual media.
Further information:
Professor Rauno Ronkainen (Associate Professor), Aalto University’s Department of Film
rauno.ronkainen@aalto.fi>
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