BAAB is a unique 12-month program designed for artists and researchers working on audiovisual projects at the intersection of art, anthropology, and cinema.

WHAT IS BAAB ?

BAAB is a unique 12-month program designed for artists and researchers working on audiovisual projects at the intersection of art, anthropology, and cinema. Based out of Marseille, the vibrant port city in the south of France BAAB offers an inspiring mix of four collective feedback sessions, one-on-one mentoring, and international networking opportunities in a supportive and benevolent environment.

Fully collaborative, BAAB encourages creativity through dialogue and sharing between artists, researchers, and professionals in the fields of creation and production. It brings a diversity of voices together to think, experiment, and exchange freely and organically, creating a generative framework in which projects can grow, transform and come to fruition.  

Each year, 10 international projects are selected – at various stages of development and realisation– and given the opportunity to test, question, and refine their ideas with the full support of a dynamic peer group and a team of renowned professionals.

HOW IT WORKS

Collective Sessions

The backbone of BAAB consists of 4 x 3-day collective sessions throughout the year. Each session brings together all participants and mentors for deep, constructive feedback on all the projects at each step of their creative development. Mentors and participants work together to prepare the presentations.
A guest —distinguished artists, researchers, professionals— is invited at each session to add an external perspective on the projects. This special guest will also give a masterclass, combining presentations of their own work and creative exercises. 

Concurrent with these presentations, BAAB will organise additional workshops according to the selected projects and their requirements, be they theoretically-based or practically-engaged.  These workshops can also be oriented towards helping the participants prepare proposals for labs, coproduction platforms and audiovisual production in general. These workshops are open to everyone (students, general public) by reservation.

The sessions culminate in a curated public screening during DOUBLE VISION, Marseille’s monthly showcase of experimental ethnographic films. This will allow participants and guests to connect with the wider artistic community.

Individual Mentoring

Every participant will be paired with a dedicated mentor who will offer personalized support over the course of the year.  The mentor will help to refine the project’s direction and encourage experimentation, providing direction that is at once structural, technical, theoretical, and strategic. Mentors will meet with participants regularly (at a minimum of one appointment between each session) in one-on-one sessions that are flexible enough to adapt to each project’s specific needs. 

OUTCOME

At the end of the BAAB program a public screening will be organized in Marseille where producers, programmers and distributors will be invited to see the current works.

OUR APPROACH

BAAB sustains and encourages works that expand and blur boundaries between genres, formats, and disciplines ; between art, cinema and anthropology. We welcome projects that experiment with form and content, explore sensory and poetic forms, challenge dominant narratives and /or reimagine an approach to storytelling, play with conventions and patterns.

We value works that are conscious of their conditions of existence and seek to create new ethical and aesthetic approaches. BAAB emphasizes intentionality, positionality, and the dialogue between form and content, with a commitment to intercultural ethics and critical social discourse. In a context where the script dominates, BAAB pays close attention to projects that question cinematic practices anchored in the real, projects where sound, time, space, fieldwork and editing experiment with the present, memory and the imaginary.  BAAB is a process whereby projects are developed through the materials themselves and the sessions are organized based on the presentation of the material brought by each participant. 

WHO PARTICIPATES  ?

Our participants come from diverse cultural, artistic, academic, amateur and professional backgrounds:

  • Artists, filmmakers, audiovisual technicians with personal projects ;
  • Journalists exploring new narrative forms ;
  • Writers  and activists bringing their work into an artistic field ;
  • Academics, researchers, anthropologists with multimodal projects ;
  • Auto-didacts…

BAAB is designed for emerging artists and researchers (post-master level and beyond). No formal degree is required—only commitment, presence, and a willingness to share and engage in collective work.

BAAB offers: mentorship, community, feedback, international exposure, and visibility. Although we do not provide equipment or production funding, we actively support participants in sourcing technical equipment and finding financial resources.

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Location
All sessions take place at Videodrome 2, Marseille. Mentors are based in Marseille to maximize in-person meetings. 

Calendar 2026

  • Session     1: March 19-21
  • Session     2: May 28–30
  • Session     3: September 25–27
  • Session     4: Date to be confirmed

Fee
€300 for the full year (sessions, mentoring, events).

Support
With a view to welcoming projects from marginalized and underprivileged individuals or regions, the participation fees collected will be used to create a support fund for one or two projects for which the cost of travel, visas, living expenses, etc. would otherwise represent an obstacle that would discourage them from applying and participating. These projects will be exempt from paying participation fees.

Travel / Accommodation
All participants are responsible for covering costs to/from Marseille and for the 12 days of required meetings.  We will try to facilate accomodation as much as possible. 

Language/s preferred
Participants are expected to be able to communicate in English or French. Projects can be developed in any language.  Translation can be arranged for the collective sessions.

APPLICATIONS

Applications open: November 4, 2025
Deadline: Janyary 01, 2026 (01 :00 CET)
Shortlist notification: January 8, 2026 

Interviews: January 12, 2026 (online or in Marseille)

Final selection: January 13, 2026

>>> Submit

Application materials

  • Project description (max 3 pages: content/context, form/treatment, artistic intentions)
  • Link to existing material of the project (max 10 min: photos, sound, audiovisual works, etc.)
  • Portfolio (texts, audiovisual works, etc.) with links to previous works relevant to the application
  • CV – 2 pages

ORGANISATION

Artistic Directors: Claire Lasolle & Laurent Van Lancker
Co-founders: Ben Russell & Jeff Silva & Narimane Mari
Coaches 2026: Claire Lasolle, Narimane Mari, Daniela Rodrigues, Jeff Silva, Laurent Van Lancker

COMMISSIONING

Funded by the ANFAA AMidex Chair of Excellence (Aix-Marseille University / IDEAS).

In partnership with Videodrome 2.

CODE OF CONDUCT

… is built on respect, awareness, and accountability. We recognize that participants come from different cultures, bodies, experiences, and positions in power structures. We actively cultivate a safe space where differences fuel creativity, and where everyone is responsible for listening, questioning, and supporting one another with care and integrity.

Pre-registration form to be sent before jan 1, 2026

1 pdf file (max 2 Mo) including project & links: max. 3 pages + your CV (2 pages).



    session 2026

    Funded by the
    ANFAA AMidex Chair of Excellence
    Aix-Marseille University / IDEAS

    In partnership with
    Videodrome 2
    Marseille

    BAAB – Beyond Audiovisual and Anthropological Boundaries – SESSION 2026