Inside the main building of the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in Cuba, the atmosphere is a mixture of warm conviviality and frenetic hard work.
Each year, around 500 applicants from more than 30 countries compete for just 42 places on its internationally accredited diploma programme.
The three-year course allows students to specialise in one of seven disciplines – directing, scriptwriting, documentary-making, editing, production, cinematography or sound.