Ecole supérieure d'études cinématographiques

What Ecole supérieure d'études cinématographiques does

École supérieure d'études cinématographiques (ÉSEC) is a private French higher education institution specializing in cinema and audiovisual arts, founded in 1975 and operating under the umbrella of Groupe EDH. The school was formed through the merger of ÉSEC and ARFIS, and has operated for nearly 50 years as a reference institution in French cinema education. It delivers a four-year curriculum structured in three phases — Year 1 discovery, Year 2 deepening, and Years 3–4 specialization — across seven-plus tracks including directing/onset production, post-production, production/distribution, screenwriting, virtual production, documentary, videography, and live broadcast. The institution also operates apprenticeship (alternance) and Validation of Prior Experience (VAE) pathways, supplemented by industry practitioner masterclasses.

The school's core physical infrastructure consists of two urban campuses in Paris and Lyon, each equipped with dedicated film studios and professional-grade equipment that enable hands-on filming under professional conditions. Technology is therefore primarily capital-intensive audiovisual production equipment rather than software platforms. ÉSEC serves a B2C audience of prospective students pursuing careers in writing, production, image, sound, distribution, and post-production, and reaches them through direct admission (including outside the French Parcoursup system), open days, discovery workshops, webconferences, and active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

The revenue model is tuition-based, with pricing not publicly disclosed; students apply directly via the school's application portal. No external funding rounds, named enterprise customers, or financial disclosures are available. ÉSEC operates as part of Groupe EDH, a diversified educational conglomerate that also owns EFAP, ICART, EFJ, Brassart, and MoPA, providing shared group-level scale and cross-portfolio synergies. No AI capabilities, patents, or industry awards are documented in the available data.

Name

Ecole supérieure d'études cinématographiques

Legal name

École supérieure d'études cinématographiques

Website

https://esec.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ÉSEC is a private French higher education school operating in Paris and Lyon, delivering a four-year cinema and audiovisual curriculum with seven-plus specializations. It serves individual students pursuing careers in filmmaking, post-production, screenwriting, and virtual production, generating revenue through tuition fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: As a private higher education institution, ÉSEC generates revenue primarily through tuition fees charged to enrolled students for its film and audiovisual programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ÉSEC is a private higher education institution that trains students in cinema and audiovisual arts through a four-year curriculum covering writing, production, image and sound, distribution, and post-production. The school operates campuses in Paris and Lyon, each equipped with professional film studios, and offers seven specialization tracks, a work-study apprenticeship program, a validation of prior experience (VAE) pathway, and industry-led masterclasses.

Product overview

ÉSEC (École supérieure d'études cinématographiques) is a private higher education institution specializing in film and audiovisual arts, part of the EDH Group. Founded from the merger of ÉSEC and ARFIS schools, it has operated for nearly 50 years. The institution offers a comprehensive 4-year curriculum structured in three phases: Year 1 (Discovery), Year 2 (Deepening), and Years 3-4 (Specialization). Students can choose from seven specialized tracks including Directing/Production, Post-production, Production/Distribution, Screenwriting, Virtual Production, Documentary, Videography, and Live Broadcast. The school maintains campuses in Paris and Lyon, each equipped with professional filming studios and cutting-edge equipment for hands-on training. Programs emphasize practical learning through workshops and film productions under professional conditions. The institution also offers work-study alternatives and prior experience validation pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Groupe EDHcoreOthersÉSEC is a member of Groupe EDH (European Digital Higher Education), an educational group operating multiple specialized schools across France and internationally. The group includes institutions such as EFAP, ICART, EFJ, Brassart, MoPA, and others covering fields from communication and journalism to 3D animation and interior architecture.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• London Film School: UK-based postgraduate film school offering MA Filmmaking and screenwriting programs with strong international student intake. Comparable curriculum structure and specialization model; serves European film students but in a different national market from ÉSEC.
• New York Film Academy: US-based private film school with global campuses offering hands-on programs in directing, cinematography, screenwriting, and producing. Comparable tuition-funded private model and curriculum breadth; competes internationally rather than in the French domestic market.

Emerging players

• MoPA (Motion Pictures in Arles): Sister school within Groupe EDH specializing in 3D animation and VFX. Cross-promotes with ÉSEC inside the same parent group and offers adjacent (rather than overlapping) audiovisual training, making it a natural ecosystem peer rather than direct competitor.

Direct peers

• ESRA (École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle): Established French private film and audiovisual school with multiple campuses, offering programs in directing, sound, editing, and animation. Closely comparable as a tuition-funded private film school targeting the same domestic student persona with similar curriculum depth.
• 3iS (Institut International de l'Image et du Son): French private audiovisual school offering BTS, bachelor, and master's programs in cinema, sound, post-production, and acting. Directly competes with ÉSEC for French private-school cinema students across a similar multi-year specialization model.
• EICAR (École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation): French private film school with Paris and Lyon campuses offering directing, production, screenwriting, and post-production programs. Direct geographic and curriculum overlap with ÉSEC, including a Lyon campus that competes head-to-head.
• La Fémis (École nationale supérieure des métiers de l'image et du son): France's most prestigious public film school, offering programs in directing, cinematography, editing, sound, and production across a multi-year curriculum. Direct competitor for French students seeking cinema/audiovisual credentials; comparable target persona (passionate prospective students) and curriculum structure.
• École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière: Prestigious French public school specializing in cinema, sound, and photography. Targets the same passionate film students as ÉSEC with comparable specialization tracks (cinematography, sound, post-production), serving as the primary public-sector alternative in France.
• Gobelins, l'école de l'image: Renowned French school for animation, photography, and audiovisual production under the Paris Chamber of Commerce. Overlaps with ÉSEC on filmmaking and post-production tracks, and competes for similar French creative-student talent.

Broad incumbents

• INA sup (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel): French public audiovisual institute offering professional training across broadcast, documentary, and digital media. Overlaps with ÉSEC on documentary and broadcast (Direct) specializations while operating at significantly broader scale across the French audiovisual sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/EsecCinema
• Facebookfacebook.com/ESEC.officiel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/esec-ecole-des-metiers-du-cinema-et-de-l-audiovisuel
• Instagraminstagram.com/esecofficiel
• TikToktiktok.com/@esec_officiel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ecole supérieure d'études cinématographiques