Film

Featured News

Two young men stand in the driveway of a house.
Berlinale Award-winning ‘Stay Awake’ by Jamie Sisley ’15 Hits Theatres

By Carlos Barragán
May 24, 2023

Stay Awake, a film featuring the talents of a group of distinguished School of the Arts alumni, has begun its theatrical journey.

Yoko Kohmoto
Creative Producing Student Yoko Kohmoto Receives The 2023 Campbell Award

By Angeline Dimambro
May 23, 2023

Graduating Film student Yoko Kohmoto ’23 is among the winners of Columbia University’s prestigious Campbell Award.

Sloan Science and Film logo
2023 Sloan Foundation Production & Screenwriting Grant Award Winners

By Angeline Dimambro
May 15, 2023

Each year, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation partners with Columbia University to award a series of grants to recognize projects that excel in their depictions of scientific themes or characters.

Frozen poster

Writer and co-director: Jennifer Lee '05

Superbad poster

Writer-director: Greg Mottola '91

Zero Dark Thirty poster

Writer, director, producer: Kathryn Bigelow '79

Logan poster

Co-writer and director: James Mangold '99

Yellowjackets poster

Co-creator, executive producer, writer: Ashley Lyle '07

Shirkers poster

Writer-director: Sandi Tan '00

Film

Columbia University's School of the Arts houses one of the top-ranked film schools in the world. Under the leadership of the late Milos Forman—the Oscar-winning director of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus—Columbia’s Graduate Film Program became renowned for its devotion to story, its uniquely integrated curriculum, and its faculty of working professionals esteemed in both Hollywood and the independent film community. Our curriculum fosters cutting-edge creativity, intellectual rigor, and hands-on practicality.  Decade after decade, our diverse and international alumni have been celebrated at the highest levels of industry achievement in television, film, and new media.

The Film MFA programs—in Screenwriting & Directing and in Creative Producing, recently joined by Writing for Film and Television—are among the world's premiere training grounds for emerging filmmakers. Since the Film MFA at Columbia began in 1966, it has been renowned for the global success of its alumni, including top prizes at the Oscar and Emmy Awards as well as yearly accolades at Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Telluride, and more.

We also offer both a BA and an MA in Film and Media Studies, the latter with a choice of specialization between cinema/media and emergent media.

Fall 2024 Admissions Deadline

2023 Information & Q&A Sessions