Film, Master of Fine Arts

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The City-Film MFA Program fosters the creation of compelling, daring, and visually stimulating short films in documentary and fiction. Ours is a hands-on program where students workshop their ideas in the field, directing their own short films and crewing on those of classmates. Our students graduate having produced professional, broadcast quality films that are launched into the festival circuit at Cityvisions, our annual film showcase.

Application Process Apply Today

Admissions Deadlines

FIND YOUR VOICE, TELL YOUR STORY: only here at ccny

The most affordable MFA film program of its kind in New York City

One of the most diverse and international film schools in the world

Student work has been accepted at Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, and Tribeca

An independent filmmaking community in the heart of Harlem

Student Info

Unlike other film schools, we equally emphasize documentary and fiction filmmaking genres as vehicles for original storytelling. We are proud to be one of the most international film programs in the world. Recent and current students come from Vietnam, Nigeria, China, Germany, Japan, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Palestine, Haiti, Belarus, France, India, Tibet, Pakistan, Iran, Kenya, Ukraine, Italy, Bhutan, Uruguay, Venezuela, Thailand, Taiwan, and Morocco.

Faculty Info

The City-Film MFA Program, founded in 1999, distinguishes itself by its faculty, comprised entirely of working filmmakers, and its emphasis on cultivating independent and original visual story-tellers. The faculty actively involves students and alumni in our production teams.

Curricular Innovation

The film program at City College of New York is one of the first film schools in the country, founded in 1941 by the revolutionary Dada and Surrealist artist Hans Richter. Our faculty is comprised of actively working, award-winning filmmakers; the renowned Chantal Akerman (1950-2015) was among our dedicated full-time faculty. We mentor a small, diverse group of students to become the next generation of original voices in independent filmmaking.

Admissions Facts

Total Credits: 54

GRE Required: No

Minimum Language Test Scores: 577 (TOEFL PBT), 90-91 (TOEFL IBT), 7 (IELTS), 61 (PTE) or 110 (Duolingo)

Degree Awarded: M.F.A.

Supporting Documents Required:

Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
If the applicant's undergraduate degree is not in the field, foundational courses in film/video production and the history/aesthetics of cinema are required.
2 letters of recommendation
Resume/CV
Personal Statement
Creative Portfolio of film and/or video work must be submitted with the application
Applicants may be asked to appear for a personal interview by the departmental Graduate Committee
GRE Required: No

Program Co- Directors: Professor Antonio tibaldiantonio@gmail.com and Professor Andrea Weiss, Ph.D. aweiss@ccny.cuny.edu

Assistant Director: April Gatling-Joffee cityfilm@ccny.cuny.edu

For more information, please visit the Program Website.

Main program website: city-film.org/

Program sneak-peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGwHEElmvaY

Cityvisions website: ccny-cityvisions.org

Affiliation website: documentaryforum.org

Social media channels:

https://www.facebook.com/cityfilm.mfa

https://www.instagram.com/cityfilm.mfa/

https://twitter.com/MFA_CCNY

Video channel: https://vimeo.com/cityfilmmfa