The Legacy of Milos Forman
In 1978, esteemed director Milos Forman and his Screenwriting mentor Frank Daniel were appointed co-chairs of the Film Program. Under their leadership, the program flourished and became the world-renowned institution of film education that it is today. In many ways, Forman was the "creative founder" of Columbia Film, having shaped and refined its commitment to narrative filmmaking anchored in strong screenplays. He gave it a character as distinct as his own—original, passionate, intelligent, and international.
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This Is Who We Are is a series featuring Columbia University School of the Arts’ professors, covering careers, pedagogy, and art-making. Here, we talk with Assistant Professor of Film Minhal Baig about the persistent miraculousness of filmmaking, finding process through practice, and blowing it all up.
Palestine 36, the feature film by Annemarie Jacir '02 currently making waves on the festival circuit, recently secured another victory when it was awarded the top prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Four films by Columbia alums have been selected as their countries' official submissions to the 98th Academy Award for Best International Film.
Boots, a new series co-run by Film alum Andy Parker '11 and based on Greg Cope Wire’s memoir The Pink Marine, has just come out on Netflix and has held a spot in the top 10 most watched television shows since its premiere on October 9, 2025.
Two films by Columbia filmmakers took home major awards at the 2025 New Hampshire Film Festival.
Grow, a new feature film produced by Joe Capotorto '18 and co-produced by Fernando Morrett Garza '25, was released in theaters across the United States on October 3, 2025.
Two-time Emmy Award and Peabody-winning filmmaker and Professor of Professional Practice Trey Ellis wrote for and served as a consulting producer on the new Amazon Prime series, Hotel Costiera.
On October 17, Netflix premiered The Twits, an animated retelling of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book, co-directed and co-written by Film alum Phil Johnston '04.
Film student Çağla Demirbaş, an award-winning filmmaker, flexed her chops behind the camera at 212 Photography Istanbul, which sprawled across the city this autumn from September 29 to October 12.
Columbia Filmmakers Champion LGBTQ+ Stories at NewFest2025; Nana Duffour '25 Takes Home Three Prizes
The 37th edition of NewFest wrapped on October 21, 2025 and Film alum Nana Duffour '25 emerged as one of the night’s brightest stars, sweeping three top honors across the Jury, Audience and Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker categories.
Film alum Mounia Akl '17 has directed three episodes of Netflix’s show House of Guinness, created by the same team as Peaky Blinders.
For Zefan Wang, SoA ’25, what started out as a casual browse of film festival submission platforms ended with him accepting a trophy bestowed by filmmaker Jon M. Chu.
