U.S. Arts Schools are Opening Programs and Campuses Abroad

America might have Hollywood, but the United States is only the third-most-prolific nation for feature film production. Hollywood movies still dominate cinemas worldwide, however, and with American conservatory-style training programs expanding abroad, the international influence of Western films continues to increase."There is no denying that we have some very quality work coming from Hollywood," says Swati Mittal, an Indian filmmaker and graduate of the NY Film Academy's first workshop in Mumbai, India, which took place in May. "Our country has its own approach to filmmaking, but there is this generation who is not very satisfied with what Bollywood has to offer. There's a whole new genre of actors, directors, and writers which are slowly coming up, and many of them are people who have studied somewhere else and come back."But it would save these students a trip if they could study American-style moviemaking in their native countries. This month, NYFA will launch its second Mumbai workshop, a four-week program that brings hands-on training to aspiring Indian filmmakers and performers."Mumbai is really the center of film in India," says NYFA senior director David Klein. "We were contacted by so many people in the Indian film market that wanted to get instruction in filmmaking from an American institution."While NYFA's first Mumbai workshop focused on directing, the second will include actor training. As part of the directing program, students are required to act in each other's projects, a skill that Mittal believes greatly enriches her knowledge of filmmaking."Acting and directing both proved to be a tremendous learning process," she says, adding that in India the two are taught separately. "To be a good director, it is very important to know every aspect of filmmaking."Elements of Bollywood, such as extravagant musical numbers, remain essential in training Indian performers, however, so for its acting workshop, NYFA has added a song-and-dance element, something not present in its U.S. coursework."It's important for people that want to go into performance that they have some song-and-dance experience," says Klein. "That is what they do in Bollywood, and they want to be able to have that experience in addition to the American style of storytelling."Bollywood and Nollywood With more than 1,000 feature-length films produced each year, India leads the world in feature film releases. But training opportunities in the country are limited, Mittal says. Many aspects of NYFA's program were attractive to her, such as the small class size (unlike Indian schools, where she had 80 students in a class) and the practical approach."The teachers get the students involved in the actual art of filmmaking," Mittal says. A few years ago, she took a course at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, one of the premier programs in India. "You would not believe it," she says. "I had a long, detailed class on how to work a camera, but we never touched a camera."NYFA has year-round campuses in NY, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, and, its most recent addition, Australia. It also holds workshops in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although 45 percent of the students at the NY and L.A. locations are from abroad, many students want to study in and make films about their home countries."They want their films to be more global," says Klein, noting that the school hopes to add a permanent campus in India. "They felt like they were getting a handle on how to make films that were going to appeal to a larger audience."Nigerian filmmaker Chika Anadu attended NYFA's first workshop in Nigeria because she wanted to change the way movies are made in her country. Nigeria has the world's second-most-prolific film industry, affectionately known as Nollywood. Production costs are much lower in Nigeria, and, with fewer cinemas, many movies go straight to video. This model is changing, however, and Anadu believes that acting and filmmaking courses will raise the cinematic value of her country's films."When I was growing up, cinemas had all disappeared, but in the last six years they came back," she says. "If you go to a Nigerian cinema, half of the films are Nigerian films. A lot of people are trying to do better things, people like NYFA and other people organizing film workshops like that."In 2010, Anadu won $10,000 from Focus Features' Africa First Program, which annually gives money to five African filmmakers to make short films. She was also part of the Cannes Film Festival's Cinfondation Residence, where she developed her feature film "B for Baby Boy."With limited educational options for actors in Nigeria, Anadu says it's difficult to find well-trained performers. "Everyone wants to be a star," she says. And because there is no organized hiring system in the country, she plans to release a casting notice on the radio and hire a professional to train the actors she casts in her feature."When you watch Nigerian films, the acting is so awful," Anadu says. "They don't understand that acting for film and acting for stage are different things. Everything's all hands and eyes, and it's just vile."Anadu hopes that more training options will produce more experienced Nigerian actors, as she wants to make films in her native language, Igbo. "I don't feel like it's authentic when we're trying to tell our stories," she says of English-language movies. "My language is just more poetic. It's better for the actors to act."Tackling the Asian Market NYFA is not the only school taking its programs abroad. In October 2008, NY University's Tisch School of the Arts opened Tisch Asia in Singapore. The campus offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation, international media producing, film, and dramatic writing, and it recently opened a Center for Continuing Education, with certificate programs in musical theater and acting for stage and screen expected to begin in February 2012.Japan and China follow the U.S. in feature film production, and Timothy Tan, director of public affairs and marketing for Tisch Asia, says there is a dearth of hands-on training options in Asia. "Parents are beginning to realize careers in the arts and conservatory-style education is important," he says. "Tisch is possibly the only school of the arts in Asia that offers a conservatory-style professional training that is established by a renowned U.S. university. We equip the students with the skills to work in the profession anywhere."With Tisch Asia, Tan hopes to bring Western-inspired filmmaking to the Asian consumer. "The international market is still dominated by the Hollywood style of filmmaking, and that has proven to be very attractive to a lot of Asian countries," Tan says. "What we hope to do is introduce the Hollywood style of filmmaking and allow the students to be inspired by the untold stories of Asia." By Suzy Evans November 2, 2011 NY Film Academy students on location in India PHOTO CREDIT Nick Rivera America might have Hollywood, but the United States is only the third-most-prolific nation for feature film production. Hollywood movies still dominate cinemas worldwide, however, and with American conservatory-style training programs expanding abroad, the international influence of Western films continues to increase."There is no denying that we have some very quality work coming from Hollywood," says Swati Mittal, an Indian filmmaker and graduate of the NY Film Academy's first workshop in Mumbai, India, which took place in May. "Our country has its own approach to filmmaking, but there is this generation who is not very satisfied with what Bollywood has to offer. There's a whole new genre of actors, directors, and writers which are slowly coming up, and many of them are people who have studied somewhere else and come back."But it would save these students a trip if they could study American-style moviemaking in their native countries. This month, NYFA will launch its second Mumbai workshop, a four-week program that brings hands-on training to aspiring Indian filmmakers and performers."Mumbai is really the center of film in India," says NYFA senior director David Klein. "We were contacted by so many people in the Indian film market that wanted to get instruction in filmmaking from an American institution."While NYFA's first Mumbai workshop focused on directing, the second will include actor training. As part of the directing program, students are required to act in each other's projects, a skill that Mittal believes greatly enriches her knowledge of filmmaking."Acting and directing both proved to be a tremendous learning process," she says, adding that in India the two are taught separately. "To be a good director, it is very important to know every aspect of filmmaking."Elements of Bollywood, such as extravagant musical numbers, remain essential in training Indian performers, however, so for its acting workshop, NYFA has added a song-and-dance element, something not present in its U.S. coursework."It's important for people that want to go into performance that they have some song-and-dance experience," says Klein. "That is what they do in Bollywood, and they want to be able to have that experience in addition to the American style of storytelling."Bollywood and Nollywood With more than 1,000 feature-length films produced each year, India leads the world in feature film releases. But training opportunities in the country are limited, Mittal says. Many aspects of NYFA's program were attractive to her, such as the small class size (unlike Indian schools, where she had 80 students in a class) and the practical approach."The teachers get the students involved in the actual art of filmmaking," Mittal says. A few years ago, she took a course at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, one of the premier programs in India. "You would not believe it," she says. "I had a long, detailed class on how to work a camera, but we never touched a camera."NYFA has year-round campuses in NY, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, and, its most recent addition, Australia. It also holds workshops in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although 45 percent of the students at the NY and L.A. locations are from abroad, many students want to study in and make films about their home countries."They want their films to be more global," says Klein, noting that the school hopes to add a permanent campus in India. "They felt like they were getting a handle on how to make films that were going to appeal to a larger audience."Nigerian filmmaker Chika Anadu attended NYFA's first workshop in Nigeria because she wanted to change the way movies are made in her country. Nigeria has the world's second-most-prolific film industry, affectionately known as Nollywood. Production costs are much lower in Nigeria, and, with fewer cinemas, many movies go straight to video. This model is changing, however, and Anadu believes that acting and filmmaking courses will raise the cinematic value of her country's films."When I was growing up, cinemas had all disappeared, but in the last six years they came back," she says. "If you go to a Nigerian cinema, half of the films are Nigerian films. A lot of people are trying to do better things, people like NYFA and other people organizing film workshops like that."In 2010, Anadu won $10,000 from Focus Features' Africa First Program, which annually gives money to five African filmmakers to make short films. She was also part of the Cannes Film Festival's Cinfondation Residence, where she developed her feature film "B for Baby Boy."With limited educational options for actors in Nigeria, Anadu says it's difficult to find well-trained performers. "Everyone wants to be a star," she says. And because there is no organized hiring system in the country, she plans to release a casting notice on the radio and hire a professional to train the actors she casts in her feature."When you watch Nigerian films, the acting is so awful," Anadu says. "They don't understand that acting for film and acting for stage are different things. Everything's all hands and eyes, and it's just vile."Anadu hopes that more training options will produce more experienced Nigerian actors, as she wants to make films in her native language, Igbo. "I don't feel like it's authentic when we're trying to tell our stories," she says of English-language movies. "My language is just more poetic. It's better for the actors to act."Tackling the Asian Market NYFA is not the only school taking its programs abroad. In October 2008, NY University's Tisch School of the Arts opened Tisch Asia in Singapore. The campus offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation, international media producing, film, and dramatic writing, and it recently opened a Center for Continuing Education, with certificate programs in musical theater and acting for stage and screen expected to begin in February 2012.Japan and China follow the U.S. in feature film production, and Timothy Tan, director of public affairs and marketing for Tisch Asia, says there is a dearth of hands-on training options in Asia. "Parents are beginning to realize careers in the arts and conservatory-style education is important," he says. "Tisch is possibly the only school of the arts in Asia that offers a conservatory-style professional training that is established by a renowned U.S. university. We equip the students with the skills to work in the profession anywhere."With Tisch Asia, Tan hopes to bring Western-inspired filmmaking to the Asian consumer. "The international market is still dominated by the Hollywood style of filmmaking, and that has proven to be very attractive to a lot of Asian countries," Tan says. "What we hope to do is introduce the Hollywood style of filmmaking and allow the students to be inspired by the untold stories of Asia."