Film Production
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Why study Film Production?
Every year, you work on the making of a film. In this competitive program, you’ll develop your craft and vision as a filmmaker under the supervision of established filmmakers, media artists and scholars who instruct and mentor you.
The program integrates rigorous hands-on technical training with aesthetic, historical, commercial and theoretical topics that influence filmmaking today. Our approach pushes you to find innovative ways to express yourself through motion pictures.
Our facilities are amongst the best in Canada. A wide range of film and digital equipment is available to you, and our production studios cater to everything from hand-made analog techniques to the latest digital technologies.
As your skills improve, you may choose to specialize in a specific technical area such as cinematography or sound. Fiction filmmaking has a rich history here, but we also make significant contributions to documentary and experimental films.
Montreal has a bustling film industry, so take advantage of your time here. Our school and our city will offer you both time to be creative and many opportunities for professional work.
Program Details
A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree takes a minimum of three or four years (90 – 120 credits) of full-time study, depending on your academic background.
Program options:
- Specialization in Film Production (66 credits)
- Major in Film Production (54 credits)
Students in the Major may apply to transfer to the Specialization in their third year. It is strongly recommended that students in the Specialization have, or acquire, knowledge of French.
This program is only available for Fall admission.
Minimum cut-off averages
- Quebec CEGEP: DEC
- High School: C+
- University Transfers (internal/external): C
- Bacc. français: 11
- International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma: 26
Course requirements for admission
None. You must meet Concordia’s minimum admission requirements.
Additional requirements for admission
- Letter of intent
- Portfolio
Minimum cut-off averages should be used as indicators. The cut-off data may change depending on the applicant pool. Applicants who meet the stated minimum requirements are not guaranteed admission to these programs.
We consider complete applications year round and we give priority to applicants who apply by official deadlines. Late applications will be considered if places are still available for the fall term only.
| You've sent your application from: | Fall term deadline | Winter term deadline |
| Inside Canada | March 1 Certain programs have extended their deadlines. Please check program availability. |
N/A Admission to this program is only available for the Fall Term. |
| Outside Canada (International) |
February 1 | N/A |
We reserve the right to close admission to a program at any time after the official deadline without prior notice.
The Film Production curriculum provides flexible opportunities to develop skills as a filmmaker through collaborative and individual studio practices, technical & theoretical seminars, critiques, screenings and guest speakers.
At the core of the Film Production Program are the Filmmaking I, II and III courses. All projects produced in these courses are initiated by students and mentored through all stages of production to completion. Numerous genres are explored and students are exposed to contemporary production methods.
Supporting these core production courses are technical courses, that inform specific areas of film production such as cinematography and sound. There are also ancillary courses that incorporate process and aesthetic considerations such as writing, directing, expanded cinema, montage, production design and creative producing.
In addition to film production courses, students choose from a range of courses in film history, theory and aesthetics as well as elective seminars in liberal arts and sciences. These courses provide an interdisciplinary historical and critical framework to support individual creative practices.
- For a list of required courses please download the Program Guide according to year of entry.
- Consult the undergraduate calendar for a complete list of current Cinema courses.
- Schedules for courses are available on the class schedules website.
Our Centre for Digital Arts and Visual Media Resource Centre department are equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment, computer labs and editing and are staffed with technical experts who will assist you in realizing your ideas. You’ll have access to:
- Computing labs for video and sound editing
- Audio-visual equipment loans
- Instructive workshops and activities that show you how to use the equipment
- Media library and viewing rooms
Susan Pigott Fellowship for Indigenous Students
The Susan Pigott Fellowship was established for the purpose of encouraging and rewarding an Undergraduate or Graduate student enrolled full-time or part-time in Film Animation or Film Production in Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. This award is for Indigenous candidates and Canadian residents.
Telefilm Canada First Feature Production Funding
The Talent Fund-supported Talent to Watch Program (formerly Micro-Budget Production Program) finances emerging content creators who are recent alumni of a partner educational institution (i.e. Concordia), active members of partner cooperatives, recent participants in a partner film festival incubator initiative, or those who have directed a short film selected by a recognized film festival. The program also provides automatic funding to projects directed by an emerging director who has previously directed a short film that has been awarded a prize by a recognized film festival.
Deadline for applications is February 21, 2020.
See applications guidelines and instructions.
Submission links should be sent to cinema@concordia.ca.
International Study Opportunities
Concordia University offers students the opportunity to take part in an International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) that will count for credit towards their Concordia degree, while paying the same tuition fees they do at home and possibly receiving funding. International study opportunities bring cultural diversity and enrichment through immersion in the programs of study at Concordia’s partner institutions.
Professional Internships
Internships provide students with the opportunity to pursue work in the film industry, film research, archival work, editing film publications, or writing film criticism. Consult the undergraduate calendar or graduate calendar for details about program specific requirements and prerequisites.
Independent Studies
Students may explore specific areas of film through independent study. Consult the undergraduate calendar or graduate calendar for details about program specific requirements and prerequisites. See independent study guidelines and download forms.
There's no denying that Montreal is a city for cinephiles. With numerous venues and an annual calendar packed with film festivals Montreal has a long-standing reputation as a thriving urban centre where traditional cinematic and new media practices flourish.
Student work drives the creative energy in the Faculty of Fine Arts, and you’ll have opportunities to present your projects at festivals and screenings throughout venues both on and off campus. You will also have the chance to get involved with film festivals organizations , intern with media production companies or journals that publish articles about film theory, analysis and criticism.
To see what current students are working on, visit our gallery of student work.
For over thirty-five years our alumni have obtained critical acclaim in the film and media industry locally and internationally. As a Concordia Film School graduate you will enter the world of media professionals with the knowledge and discipline to think critically about your work. You will possess the training and skills needed to successfully embark on a career path in cinema and media production – one that is based extensively on teamwork and collaboration. Your degree may lead to many paths:
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Lighting Technician
- Camera Technician
- Producer
- Production Manager
- Post-Production Coordinator
- Picture Editor
- Sound Designer
- Multidisciplinary film-artist
