Film

California College of the Arts has long been in the vanguard of the media arts, providing students with a chance to explore dynamic and exciting approaches to working with moving images and sound. Built on this strong foundation, CCA's Film Program is one of the most forward-looking places to study filmmaking in the country.

About the Film Program

The Film Program at CCA explores the creative possibilities in expanded narrative frameworks, from linear to nonlinear forms, with the goal of guiding young artists and filmmakers to break new ground in storytelling. Beginning with a solid foundation in narrative film and production practices, the curriculum advances to place the full range of filmmaking and new media arts practices in dialogue with each other.

Students glean inspiration from multiple, rich histories and forms—from theatrical film to installation, experimental film, and contemporary media art—as they develop their own voices as artists and filmmakers.

Film at CCA is conceived as a program to educate the 21st century filmmaker; students emerge not only prepared for work in the film industry and art worlds but also well prepared to take their place as architects of 21st century cinema and moving-image art.

Faculty & Student Work

Film Program faculty members are established working filmmakers and media artists who bring extensive professional experience to the classroom. Their work, as well as that of CCA students and alumni, exists in a diversity of platforms and technologies—from Oscar-winning, theatrically released features to museum exhibitions, gallery installations, and site-specific works that expand the very idea of what film and cinema can be.

In addition to producing their own work, students go on to work as directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, writers, educators, and a host of other roles in the film and art worlds.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE FIELD

Film Program students learn not only in the college’s classrooms and production facilities but also in the field.

In recent years, field trips to professional institutions such as the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and Skywalker Ranch, located in the countryside of Marin County in Northern California, have been incorporated into the curriculum.

Other field activities have included collaborations with Lighthouse for the Blind, the production of a monthly television show, and field trips to Bay Area museums, galleries, and professional film facilities. Advanced Production students visited the set of Gus Van Sant’s Academy Award–winning feature Milk and participated in its making.

Courses often incorporate significant off-campus activities, from classes held in the main theater of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) to witnessing the production of exhibitions in local galleries and venues.

The Bay Area's diverse film and media arts community provides numerous possibilities for educational experiences outside the classroom. With the assistance of faculty, students secure internships and monitoring opportunities with Bay Area filmmakers, cinematographers, editors, writers, and production companies.

Visiting Film & Video Artists

A new initiative of the program is the Speaker Series and Master Class, funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a member of the CCA Board of Trustees. The inaugural guest artist to this series was director Gus Van Sant.

In addition to our internationally recognized faculty, visiting film and video artists come through the program regularly. Recent guest speakers include Matthew Buckingham, Christian Jankowski, Yvonne Rainer, Barbara Kopple, Nathaniel Kahn, Sam Green, Trinh T. Minh-Ha, Kamal Aljafari, and Charles Burnett.