Discover the artist you want to be and develop the skills to achieve your vision. Shoot and edit your own films on state-of-the-art equipment while being a part of a collaborative community of filmmakers in NYC.
A Globally Recognized Film Program with High-End Tech in an Art School Environment
Andrew Guaman directing his Film+Fashion class project, ‘Loteria’
Immerse yourself in your creative practice from the first semester—making 12–20 short films by the time you have graduated—using Pratt’s high-end equipment, cinema cameras, and facilities. You are part of a community of artists encouraged to take creative risks and push the boundaries of conventional filmmaking. As a member of CILECT (The International Association of Cinema, Audiovisual and Media Schools), our program is validated against the highest global standards.
Learn All Aspects of Filmmaking
Explore narrative, documentary, experimental filmmaking, and video art while also learning cinematography, sound design, screenwriting, and all other aspects of filmmaking. Rare among film programs, this holistic approach makes our graduates versatile in the workplace—able to engage effectively with everyone on a film set.
“People will often tell us we have to choose one thing and stick to it. But I think our generation understands that you have to be flexible and do a bit of everything.”
The program culminates with a guided but self-defined yearlong senior thesis project. Direct and edit your most ambitious short film to be presented as part of our Senior Showcase in our state-of-the-art Katharine L. McKenna Screening Room and at the prestigious BAM Rose Cinemas.
Join a Supportive Community with Small Class Sizes
Be part of a warm, supportive community that extends beyond graduation. Our faculty of filmmakers and artists facilitate your learning in intimate classes of 12–15 students. Students work collaboratively, contributing to the sense of camaraderie in each cohort.
A Campus Environment in NYC
You’ll have easy access to the museums, cinemas, and excitement of New York City, while enjoying the tranquility of our beautiful Brooklyn campus and the community of our dedicated Film/Video Building.
Mentorship from Our Dedicated Faculty
Our faculty members are active filmmakers and artists representing myriad professional possibilities and creative directions you may take in your work. They are award-winning directors, professional editors, sound mixers, colorists, experimental filmmakers, animators, and video artists—as well as dedicated mentors to our students and alumni.
“If it were not for [Pratt] mentors believing in me, I wouldn’t have my dream career of directing TV, films, and commercials and owning my production company.”
Take advantage of Pratt’s extensive network to find internships in NYC. We will coach you through the research and application process in your area of interest (production, post-production, color correction, live television, or distribution). Our students have been placed in internships in a wide range of contexts including Saturday Night Live, Late Night, A24, MoMA, Technicolor, Kino Lorber, and MTV.
In addition to a spring break program in Cuba, Film/Video students can study abroad at partner institutions in the spring semester of their junior year in cities such as London, Lisbon, Paris, and Berlin.
Our graduates are highly sought after and well-known in the film industry for being self-sufficient, respectful, resourceful, and hardworking. They are directing television, feature films, commercials, and music videos. They are professional editors, colorists, cinematographers, and sound recordists. They are award-winning writers, producers, and educators.
Highlights
Liz Hannah (BFA ‘07) Golden Globe Nominated Screenwriter of The Post (directed by Steven Spielberg), showrunner of ‘The Girl From Plainville’ and a writer on ‘The Dropout’
April Maxey (BFA ‘12) was named one of Sundance’s “Women to Watch 2023”. Winner of Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding US Narrative Short Film at the Tribeca Film Festival 2022
Park Min-woo (BFA ‘17) is the director of photography on the Korean dramatic TV series Oasis (2023)
Yessenia Sanchez’s (BFA ‘21) thesis film Double Cultura is streaming on HBOMax as part of the Latino Short Film Competition in 2023/24
Yi Xiong, ‘22, A Tortoises Year of Fate an official selection in the Locarno Film Festival
Glenn Ficarra (BFA ‘91) & John Requa (BFA ‘91) are showrunners for the Paramount+ spy thriller Rabbit Hole (2023). They wrote Bad Santa and wrote and directed Crazy, Stupid, Love
Luiza Gonçalves (BFA ‘19) won best film in competition for A BANANA TREE IS NO COINCIDENCE Pesaro Festival of New Cinema in Italy, 2021
Joel Haver (BFA ‘18) is a YouTube phenomenon whose weekly animations and comedic skits regularly get hundreds of thousands if not millions of views
Owen Kline’s first feature Funny Pages (2022) was produced by A24 and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
Mika Altskan (BFA ‘15) is a cinematographer whose commercial work includes a Nike ad with singer Billie Eilish; his narrative work includes Wild Nights with Emily (2018) which premiered at SXSW
Mackie Mallison’s (BFA ‘22) short film It Smelled like Springtime (2022) premiered at the New York Film Festival
Myrsini Aristidou’s (BFA ‘13) short films have screened at the Toronto, Venice and Sundance film festivals; and Semele (2015) won a Special Jury Prize at the Berlinale
Jungah Kim (BFA ‘86) is a producer and was the first female president of CJ Entertainment in South Korea
Career Support for Life
Students and alumni can schedule one-on-one appointments with career strategists in Pratt’s Center for Career and Professional Development. A career strategist can work with you to develop your job/internship search strategies and life and business plans, as well as review résumés, cover letters, websites, and other marketing materials.
The program also offers faculty-led career coaching, a Professional Practices class, dedicated internship support, and an alumni mentorship program that pairs recent graduates with working professionals in the field.
Ready for More?
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY
PORTFOLIO HELP
OUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
Building your portfolio can be daunting. We’ll answer your questions and help you feel confident about the portfolio you submit with your application. Start building your portfolio, now.
You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
The Film/Video program at Pratt Institute provides a foundation in nonfiction, fiction, experimental, and other time-based media practices. Our rigorous, project-based curriculum is centered around the creation of a sequence of films and videos that grow in complexity each semester, culminating in a year-long thesis project.
Each student is offered ample opportunity to grow and advance their conceptual, technical, and professional skills. They are encouraged to take creative risks, and to push the boundaries of conventional forms. They are introduced to a diverse canon of creators and works, and are asked to investigate complex histories and contexts as they strive to become reflexive and conscientious artists.
We aim to foster a supportive and collaborative creative community in which differences are respected and celebrated. We value the personal perspectives that each student brings to the classroom, and our goal is to elevate that unique voice to the forefront of their artistic vision.
The Pratt Film/Video Department strives to recognize, accept, and celebrate differences (such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and other individual characteristics), while creating a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment that champions the creative and academic empowerment of all individuals. We condemn oppression in any form and recognize, in particular, the systemic prejudice and discrimination at play in the media industry. With this awareness, we ask students and faculty to join us in actively interrupting the paradigms of power and privilege that might play out subtly or not so subtly in the classroom and on set. As such, we intend to foster a creative and collaborative community in which all students enjoy the comfort that comes from being seen, valued, respected and included as uniquely talented individuals. It is our hope that students will emulate this model and have a positive impact in the field as they move into their roles as industry professionals.
In the first semester film majors start making work right away in Film Fundamentals and Production Studio, two rigorous and comprehensive courses, which provide essential foundational training. Students then delve into various modes of filmmaking in Fiction I, Nonfiction I, and Experimental Studio I. In addition to writing, analysis, and theory classes, technical skills are put to practice in Postproduction Studio, Cinematography + Lighting Design, and Sound Design. Students develop advanced skills in Fiction II and their choice of Nonfiction II or Experimental Studio II. In the junior year, the curriculum opens up to electives giving students a chance to try new things and gain more experience in their areas of interest. The culmination of the program is a guided but self-defined senior thesis project, publicly screened in our state of the art screening room and at BAM Rose Cinemas.
Students learn in an intimate workshop setting through screenings, readings, technical demonstrations, production exercises, class critiques, and visiting professionals, as well as through internship programs in the many film, video, and postproduction studios throughout the city.
Upon graduation, students will have produced their senior project as well as compiled a sample reel of personal work, which can be part of a graduate school application, be submitted to galleries and festivals, or serve as a demonstration of students’ skills for entry into the professional landscape.
Upon graduation from the BFA in Film, the student is expected to be competent in the following areas:
Student is able to effectively plan, oversee, and complete all phases of the filmmaking process (pre- production, production and post- production).
Student is able to clearly conceptualize a cinematic project within a historical, theoretical or cultural context.
Student is able to demonstrate technical and aesthetic proficiency in service to the cinematic project.
Student is able to communicate creative, aesthetic and conceptual ideas.
Currently on: Math and Science's Immersive Projects series is up in the Gallery space in ARC LL F-09. Come by for a closing performance by the artist, Justice Whitaker.
About the Installation:
"The Trauma Cycle film has grown from a series of experimental shorts to a genre bending feature length documentary that examines my father, and his three sons, as we unpack the generational impacts of war trauma, and how art and meditation have been instrumental in the journey towards healing. The stories portrayed in Trauma Cycle are derived from my fathers own life, re-interpreted from my own memory as I recalled hearing the tales throughout my life. As we aged, I observed his real life struggle with PTSD as my father became more transparent about his experiences. The hero I had grown up with stepped off his pedestal and revealed his wounds, and I brought that to my work as a storyteller."
Trauma Cycle: An Immersive Exploration of Trauma, War, and Healing -- brings together over a decade of footage to immerse the audience in the experience of living with PTSD. Join us November 24th, as Professor Justice A. Whitaker reads from his father's Vietnam war journals in a 'one night only' performance art piece in conjunction with the immersive installation
About the Artist:
Justice A. Whitaker identifies as a multi-hyphenate artist. His work spans film, photography, audio, and analog collage work. He is an award winning Writer/Director/Producer focused on illuminating stories from around the globe through his work. Justice is a professor of Non-Fiction Storytelling, Narrative Screenwriting and Professional Practices at Pratt University’s Film School in Brooklyn, in 2024 he was awarded the Distinguished Professor award for his teaching work at the University. He is also the founder of the AI in Filmmaking Research Accelerator at Pratt University. Justice Produced the scripted short film “Food for the Soul” which premiered at BlackStar Film Festival in 2025, winning the audience award for short narrative films. Justice currently lives in Brooklyn with his children and wife, Director & Producer Rolake Bamgbose, with whom he runs their production company Shango Light Films.
Pratt Film/Video Chair Kara Hearn, School of Art Dean Jorge Oliver, and Professors Merve Kayan and Justice Whitaker shared photos of their trip to the 2025 Cilect Congress held in Guadalajara Mexico in October.
Pratt Film/Video was voted in at the congress as a full member of Cilect this year! @prattfilm_video @soartpratt
We are so pleased to share that F/V faculty members Merve Kayan and Sasha Sumner are 2025 NYSCA grant recipients. #prattfaculty @prattfilm_video
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About the New York State Council on the Arts
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award over $161 million in FY 2026, serving organizations and artists across all 10 state regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit arts.ny.gov.
@NYSCouncilontheArts.
Film/Video and Pratt Interior Design are honored to host a conversation and Q&A with Mark Friedberg on November 18th. Known for his work on a staggering array of incredible films; most recently "Highest 2 Lowest", "Caught Stealing", "Joker", “Synecdoche”, “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, and many more. Mark Friedberg is an award-winning and highly acclaimed American production designer and second unit director based in New York City. He works frequently with directors such as Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, Barry Jenkins, Darren Aronofsky, and Todd Haynes.
Professor Jon Otis, of Pratt's School of Design Interior Design department, will introduce the guest and begin the conversation, followed by an informal Q&A with the audience. @prattinteriors @prattinstitute
Space will be limited so RSVP promptly for this special visitor.
DATE: Tuesday, November 18th, from 6:30 PM
DOORS OPEN: 6:00 PM
LOCATION: Katharine L. McKenna Screening Room. Pratt Institute, F/V Building
RSVP AT LINK IN BIO @prattfilm_video
Please enjoy this short selection of recent senior thesis film clips. This highlights just a small portion of so much incredible work done by F/V grads in the last few years. With so much great work, narrowing it down was challenging.
Thank you to Sewra Kidane for this wonderful edit and compilation. @sewragee
Names below appear in order of each work’s first appearance.
Siwoo Kim ‘25; Inside My Worn Out Drawer, Is An Ocean
Julian Foy ‘24; I Don’t Often Dream
Vidhu Kota ‘24; Fools Gold
Alanna Phillips ‘24; I Love You I Am Crying Out For You To Bless Me
Mackie Mallison ‘23; Live From the Clouds
Neel Soni ‘24; Babli By Night
Clara Coyle ‘24; Silent Disco
Matteo Coelho ‘24; Of Night & Wind
Pranav Dawar ‘25; Karnama
Macie O’Neil ‘23; Crickets
Kit Matthews ‘23; Come What May
Caroline Lathrop ‘23; Population 11
Marissa Rubio ‘25; Hot Sarah
Nathan Ginter ‘23; The Third Ear
Becca Anton ‘25; Sarut Mana
Moises Bazbaz ‘24; Repatriados
Lisa Dodell ‘25; Beetroot
James Moutsos ‘24; Kid Nature
Carolina Lins ‘25; Laces
@prattfilm_video @soartpratt
@prattinstitute #studentfilm #studentfilmmaker #studentfilmmakers @siw.ookim @vidhukota @mackiemallison @_neelsoni @clara.artful @mcoelho117 @dawar_pranav @macieoneilfilm @carolineeelathrop @marissarubio_ @nathan_ginter @becca__anton @liisssaaaaaa @og_moutsos @carolmlins
Green Film School Alliance @prattfilm_video sustainabilty information, check lists, and guidelines for best practices on set - located at link in bio!
#sustainability #greenfilmmaking @greenfilmschoolalliance
Pratt Film/Video congratulates F/V '23 Alum Mackie Mallison for being named in the inaugural 2025 Sundance Institute Filmmakers Fund sponsored by @chasesapphire !
Visionary projects across fiction and nonfiction were selected from Sundance Institute artist programs, receiving $120,000 in support to bring their bold and deeply resonant stories to life.
The Filmmakers Fund is part of a year-round commitment to supporting artists at every stage of their journey and expanding the future of film.
🔗 Visit the link in bio (@sundanceorg ) to learn more about the artists and their projects.
CONGRATS MACKIE!
Join Assistant Chair Eric Trenkamp for a valuable information session on all the key 'how-to's' for filming on and off campus.
https://pratt.zoom.us/j/96255556547?pwd=bINabAaKabjvnLVebwuOapnqFmEYvg.1&jst=2 See bio for zoom link!
Pratt Film/Video is pleased to announce that filmmaker Alice Diop will join us in the F/V Screening Room on 10/2, for a conversation followed by Q&A. Open to the Pratt community, but with limited space available. RSVP form link in bio 9/29. @prattinstitute
About Alice Diop here: After obtaining Master's degrees in History from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University in 2001 and in Visual Sociology (2003), Alice Diop graduated from the Femis documentary workshop in 2005.
Since then, she has been writing and directing creative documentaries which have been shown at a number of international film festivals like the Berlinale, BFI London film festival, Karlovy-Vary, Viennale, Cinéma du Réel etc. In 2017 she won the César for Best Short Film for “Vers la Tendresse” (Towards tenderness) as well as the grand prize at the Brive Festival. In the same year, she won the grand prize in the French competition section at Cinéma du reel for her feature-length documentary La Permanence ( On Call).
Her film Nous, (We), selected for competition at the Berlinale 2021, won the Berlinale's Best Documentary Award, and the Grand Prize in the Encounters section. It went on to win the Prix Lumière for Best Documentary in 2023, and was a critical and audience success.
Her first feature fiction film, Saint Omer, selected for official competition at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, won the Silver Lion and the Lion of the Future, as well as other awards at numerous international festivals.
Saint Omer was also represented France at the Oscars in 2022.
In residence at New York's Villa Albertine in 2022, she conducted research into the work of African-American poets such as Robin Costes Lewis, Claudia Rankine, June Jordan and Lucille Clinton. In November 2023, the Festival d'Automne in Paris gave her a “carte blanche” to introduce French audiences to the work of these women, in an Afro-Diasporic conversation combining theatrical performances, live shows, film screenings and readings. The public and critical success of the event prompted her to launch her first theatrical production for the 2025 season based on Robin Costes Lewis's poetry collection Voyage of the Sable Venus and other poems.
