BFA Film student shooting takes in the green screen film cage

BFAFilm

Express your identity as a filmmaker and move beyond conventions to break new ground in cinema.

Overview

Join a creative community

As a film major at CCA, you’ll learn to master the fundamentals of filmmaking within a dynamic art school environment. Our program’s interdisciplinary culture, influenced by the college’s collaborative community and range of academic disciplines, challenges you to be creative and thought-provoking in your work. Our program’s world-class group of faculty supports the development of your personal style and artistic vision and encourages you to experiment and invent new approaches to filmmaking process and technique. You’ll graduate from the BFA Film program ready to forge exciting opportunities within the rapidly shifting landscape of contemporary cinema and media arts. Like CCA Film on Facebook for the latest updates.

Studios & Shops

Explore a variety of forms

BFA Film student works with teacher to review video takes in green screen film cage

CCA film majors learn how to make films from start to finish, working both independently and in groups. Practical skills—such as writing, producing, filming, and editing—paired with a comprehensive grounding in cinema history and theory will inform your creative decisions and storytelling. Our curriculum is designed to help you think broadly about the medium of film, giving you the freedom to explore a variety of forms in your work, including narrative, experimental, installation and multiple channel video, media art, and documentary.

BFA Film student works on audio and sound correction in post-production film studio

Cutting-edge methods and ideas

Mastering the tools of cinema is just the beginning. As you work toward your senior project, you’ll have opportunities to experiment with new processes and techniques. Collaborating with graduate film students, as well as with students studying animation, photography, and writing and literature, will push you to challenge your ideas about film and performance. You’ll also meet a range of filmmakers and artists who are working at the forefront of the medium today through CCA Film Week and our lecture series, Voices in Moving Image.

Senior project and public presentation

The BFA Film program culminates in the Senior Projects course, where you’ll conceptualize, produce, and edit a final work. You’ll create a sample reel, share your work at a screening or exhibition, and write an artist statement. Through the process of public presentation, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of how your work engages the larger discourse of contemporary film and art.

Facilities and resources

Faculty

Award-winning filmmakers and artists

Our faculty are working filmmakers and media artists. Their backgrounds range from directing and cinematography to post-production, sound design, and installation. Rather than guiding students along one preferred path, faculty encourage students to broaden their perspectives, experiment with form, and work outside their comfort zones.

Portrait of Giselle Bailey.

Giselle Bailey, Chair of Film

Giselle Bailey is a Jamaican American director whose work blends documentary, narrative, and contemporary art to create content that is explosively visual and metaphorical. She is listed in DOC NYC’s celebrated 40 under 40 list and is a Concordia directorial fellow. Her recent directorial work includes HBO’s two-part documentary Seen & Heard (TBA 2025) that features icons that are transforming the TV industry, including Oprah Winfrey, Swizz Beatz, Terence Nance, Shonda Rhimes, Cord Jefferson, Lena Waithe, and Issa Rae; Netflix docu-series Ladies First; Hulu/ONYX docu-series Hair Tales; and the HBO feature documentary The Legend of the Underground, which was EP’d by John Legend and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her work has been honored with awards and nominations by IDA, NAACP, and Critics’ Choice, among others.

Curriculum

We think with our hands

Learn filmmaking at an art school

Our program covers the fundamental principles of film production, as well as specific areas of film and related audiovisual practices. Focused workshops—such as advanced editing, writing and sound for the moving image, and expanded cinema— offer intensive, collaborative experiences. As a CCA Film student, you’ll discover how your individual style fits within the aesthetic, philosophical, and social discourse of contemporary film. View sample courses.

Investigate ideas through every dimension

Every undergraduate participates in the First Year Experience, where you’ll explore a wide range of materials and tools over the course of two semesters. Faculty from different disciplines guide studio projects, group critiques, and theoretical discussions, setting you up for success throughout their major coursework.

BFA Film

Core Studio

Drawing 1
3.0 units
2D, 3D, and 4D
9.0 units

Film Major Requirements

Film 1: Image and Sound
3.0 units
Film Language and Form
3.0 units
Film 2: Production
3.0 units
Post-Production
3.0 units
Film Studio (FILMS 3700)
3.0 units
Film Studio (FILMS 2700 or 3700)
15.0 units
Junior Tutorial
3.0 units
Film 3: Advanced Production
3.0 units
Senior Project: Film
3.0 units

Additional Studio Requirements

Interdisciplinary Critique
3.0 units
Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studio
3.0 units
Critical Ethnic Studies Studio
3.0 units
Studio Electives
12.0 units

Humanities & Sciences Requirements

Writing 1
3.0 units
Writing 2
3.0 units
Introduction to the Arts
3.0 units
Introduction to the Modern Arts
3.0 units
Foundation in Critical Studies
3.0 units
Media History: Film Genres and Practices
3.0 units
Critical Ethnic Studies Seminar (2000 level)
3.0 units
Literary and Performing Arts Studies (2000 level)
3.0 units
Philosophy and Critical Theory (2000 level)
3.0 units
Social Science/History (2000 level)
3.0 units
Science/Math (2000 level)
3.0 units
History of Art and Visual Culture (2000 level)
3.0 units
Humanities and Sciences Electives (2000 or 3000 level, at least 6 units must be 3000 level)
12.0 units

Total 120.0 units

Careers

Evolve your practice

Students graduate from film school with experience in every aspect of film and video production and are ready to make a lasting impact on contemporary cinema, visual, media, and sound arts. They find opportunities inside and outside the industry—from short documentary and narrative film projects, to experimental and multidisciplinary work, to gallery and museum exhibition.

Potential career paths

  • Filmmaker/Director
  • Cinematographer
  • Film editor
  • Screenwriter
  • Visual artist

News & Events

CCA's cinema culture

How to Apply

Express your vision through film

We look for aspiring filmmakers and artists who want to learn all the tools of cinema and who dream about expressing their vision through the moving image. Follow the link below for information on the admissions process, application due dates, scholarships, and more.

Find your creative community at CCA

Apply now