Call for applications: MFA in Film

CCA campuses are located in Huichin and Yelamu, also known as Oakland and San Francisco, on the unceded territories of Chochenyo and Ramaytush Ohlone peoples. Learn more

California College of the Arts (CCA) is now accepting applications for the graduate program in Film. 

Interdisciplinary artistic community
The MFA in Film program is a laboratory for you to develop your vision as an artist and filmmaker, build a sustainable career, and make a real impact on the future of cinematic arts. Our unique multidisciplinary culture enhances your exploration of critical themes and topics as an artist, craftsperson, entrepreneur, and global citizen. 

The program’s curriculum covers the full spectrum of filmmaking, from cinema history and theory to experimental film and multiple channel installation, encouraging you to develop groundbreaking modes of storytelling and new aesthetic languages. Students are invited to choose electives from other disciplines, such as writing and curatorial practice, to expand their skill sets and push the boundaries of their craft. Positioned within a top-ranked art and design school, our graduate film program gives students access to a diverse range of professional and alternative practices to create work that exhibits a distinct voice.

West coast connections
Our location also provides ideal conditions for developing thriving practices in today’s rapidly changing media landscape. You’ll have many resources to help you kickstart your own professional network. The program takes full advantage of all that the Bay Area arts community has to offer, including student collaborations with the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T) MFA program, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, SFFILM, San Francisco International Film Festival, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, and The Meisner Technique Studio. Coursework can include visits to  Skywalker Ranch, the Sundance Film Festival, SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Pacific Film Archives, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.

Distinguished faculty
With the mentorship of our prestigious faculty—such as Academy Award-winning filmmaker Rob Epstein, recent Whitney Biennial artist Kota Ezawa, and Creative Capital awardee Alison O’Daniel—students strengthen their conceptual capabilities, refine working methods, and expand their understanding of the moving image. Student films created with faculty mentorship have played at major international film festivals, such as Locarno, Slamdance, and the San Francisco International Film Festival. One student’s MFA thesis film was recently nominated for a Student Academy Award.

2020–21 faculty include Nilgun Bayraktar, Xandra Castleton, Helen De Michiel, Robert Epstein, Kota Ezawa, Jeanne Finley, Jody Gillerman, Joseph Graham, Lynn Marie Kirby, Ryan Malloy, Ranu Mukherjee (Chair), Alison O’Daniel, Daniel B. Olmsted, Pratibha Parmar, Donald Matthew Smith, Michele Turnure-Salleo, and Lelia Weefur.

Applications are now open. Please view the application guidelines first.

For more information, visit MFA Film at CCA or contact davebeeman [​at​] cca.edu / T +1 415 551 9213.