Film, BFA

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.

Type: Undergraduate, BFA
Credits: 126
Duration: 4 Years
Courses: Plan of Study
School and Department: School of Art,
Film/Video

A Globally Recognized Film Program with High-End Tech in an Art School Environment

woman in long hallway, wall covered in graffiti, with man holding camera pointed at her — 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.”
Grace Zhang, BFA Film ’20
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Your Senior Thesis On Screen

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.”
Aubrey Smyth, BFA Film ’10
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Jim Finn
Professor
Eliza Hittman
Associate Professor
Deborah Meehan
Professor
Idrissou Mora-Kpai
Associate Professor
Matias Pineiro
Associate Professor
Justice Whitaker
Visiting Assistant Professor

See all Film/Video faculty and administrators.

NYC Internships in Your Area of Interest

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.

Nicole Tucker, BFA Film ’24, at NBC Studios

Students Gain Real-World Experience in NYC’s Film & TV Industry

Article

A woman smiles and holds her hands out in front of a sign. that says Saturday Night Live.

Live from New York, It’s Pratt!

Article

Study Abroad and Shift Your Perspective

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.

Learn More at Study Abroad

After Graduation

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?

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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.

View all Film/Video courses

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.