More Work

On the Film Program: Albert Berger ('83SOA)
"It was a proud moment for me a few years back when I learned I was the recipient of the School of the Arts Film Program Andrew Sarris Award. In a funny way, he was the man most responsible for my interest in film. When I was in my last year of high school, I discovered his landmark book The American Cinema, which I carried around with me everywhere, combing through his appreciations of Pantheon Directors as if they were gospel. At a certain point I was convinced I wanted to be a foot soldier in Sarris’ army and do battle against Pauline Kael and her followers. more

 

On the Program: Cherien Dabis ('04SOA)
  • Amreeka
"I started the Columbia Film Program an amateur short story writer with very little knowledge of what it actually meant to be a director. In fact, I’ll never forget sitting in Bette Gordon’s Directing I class my first year, looking around the 360-degree room, wondering: How do you know where to put the camera? The possibilities overwhelmed me! But by the end of my first year, with the help of the wonderful faculty, I learned how to go about making that choice. more

 

On the Film Program: Khary Jones ('09SOA)
  • Hug
"I came to Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program with a very ungrounded understanding of the role directors play in the production of films. So, for me, Eric Mendelsohn’s Directing I class was a very formative experience. more

 

On the Film Program: Liz Chae ('09SOA)
  • The Last Mermaids
"To describe my experience at the School of the Arts, I have to start with how I got there. Having worked in the film industry in various capacities for over ten years, I figured that eventually, this would lead me to becoming a writer/director. But instead, I put off working on my own stories and gave excuses of the lack of time, the need for money, experience, etc. I started to question whether I really wanted to be a filmmaker and if I would even be good. So I decided to take a screenwriting class and finished my first feature. I was so happy. It was long overdue. more

 

On the Film Program: Simon Kinberg ('01SOA)
  • Mr. and Mrs. Smith
"Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a writer. But it wasn’t until I came to Columbia University School of the Arts that I learned what it meant to be a writer. My years in the Film Program there taught me the craft of screenwriting, as well as the business of making movies. In so many ways, Columbia was the perfect combination of arts: conservatory and trade school, a place where I could read Aristotle and Eisenstein on narrative theory, and analyze budgets and box office like a science. It was a safe, protected place, but it was never precious. more

 

On the Theatre Arts Dramaturgy Program: Christopher Burney ('93SOA and Adjunct Faculty)
  • Christopher Burney
"I remember my first day at Columbia University School of the Arts. Though I had been living in Boston, I was not prepared for the overwhelming sense of possibility, expectation and demand of being in New York City; I felt like I could hear the echoes of everything amazing that had happened in New York theatre history. The School of the Arts provided a stimulating and supportive environment in which I could challenge myself as an artist and individual. more

 

Theatre Arts Alumna Diane Paulus: Tony Award Winner
  • Don Giovanni
Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program alumna Diane Paulus' ('97SOA) Broadway revival of "HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" at the Hirschfeld Theater won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2009. more

 

On the Theatre Arts Acting Program: K.K. Moggie ('07SOA)
"The Theatre Arts Program at Columbia University School of the Arts built a safe frame from which I was able to surround myself with like-minded colleagues. They constantly impressed and pushed me to think outside of my box. We were encouraged at every opportunity to take risks in an environment in which it was normal to fail. Those were the best lessons I ever learned. That environment taught me to be fearless in my process, something which I have continued to try and do. more

 

Mika Rottenberg ('04SOA): Work
  • Cheese
 more

 

Kamrooz Aram ('03SOA): Work
  • Supreme Elevation
 more

 

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Columbia University School of the Arts offers MFA degrees in Film, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts, and Writing, an MA degree in Film Studies, a joint JD/MFA degree in Theatre Management & Producing, and a PhD degree in Theatre History, Literature, and Theory.