The Film B.F.A. Program | Academic Requirements | Student Learning Outcomes | Courses | Faculty

The Film B.F.A. Program

The Film Program provides highly motivated and talented students with intensive training in all aspects of filmmaking. Students develop significant skills in directing, cinematography, editing, production, scriptwriting, and film analysis. By the end of the sophomore year, students consult with the film faculty and choose to focus on either fiction, documentary, or experimental film in their junior year.

The primary emphasis of the B.F.A. program is on directing. At the end of the junior year, however, film majors who have demonstrated exceptional talent in cinematography or screenwriting have the option of specializing in those areas, subject to approval by the board of study. The board’s decision is based on demonstration of the student’s technical and artistic proficiency.

Facilities
Film majors enjoy a high equipment-to-student ratio and have access to a fully equipped sound stage, mix studio, equipment store, screening rooms, digital and 16mm film editing studios, and optical printer.

About Our Alumni
More than 85 percent of Film Program alumni have found work in the film and television industries. Our alumni include:

• Jessica Brunetto, film and television editor (Capitalism: A Love Story, Sicko, Trek Nation, and Courting Condi)
• Rocco Caruso, producer (3 Backyards, Year of the Fish, Judy Berlin, Little Red Riding Hood, and Through an Open Window)
• Ilya Chaiken, director, editor, and screenwriter (Liberty Kid, Blackout, The 100 Lovers of Jesus Reynolds, and Margarita Happy Hour)
• Austin Chick, director, screenwriter, and producer (XX/XY, August, and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead)
• Nick Gomez, director and screenwriter (Drowning Mona, illtown, New Jersey Drive)
• Brandon Harris, writer for Filmmaker Magazine
• Hal Hartley, director, screenwriter, and pioneer of the independent film movement (The Girl From Monday, No Such Thing, The Book of Life, Henry Fool, Flirt, Amateur, Fay Grim, and Simple Men)
• Azazel Jacobs (The Good Times Kid, Momma’s Man, and I See); in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art
• Lesli Klainberg, producer and director of documentaries and specials for network and cable television; owner and president, Orchard Films; consulting producer, Sundance Documentary Program
• Chris Wedge, Academy Award—winning director (Robots, Ice Age, Bunny); co-founder and vice president of creative development, Blue Sky Studios