The London Film School

Overview

The London Film School was founded in 1956 and offers only postgraduate film programmes. LFS is one of only three institutions accredited as a Skillset Film Academy, approved by the UK film industry training body as a “centre of excellence”. The London Film School is the world’s most international film school with 70% of its students from more than 60 different countries.

Students participate in the making of six compulsory films over two years, five structured exercises and one graduation project, all at an industrial level. They create a “Work and Research Journal” as the written component of the MA. Film exercises in year one are shot on 16mm and digital, while second year exercises are on 35mm and digital on built sets and locations. Students are taught by working UK filmmakers. Films are made on built sets, shot on professional level cameras, recorded on Nagra V, edited on Avid Composer and given a professional dub in Soho.

Throughout each 12 week term the school produces around 60 films and 180 per year in total. During 2012 the school participated in over 100 festivals and won 25 first prizes. LFS graduates are regularly selected for Emerging Talent schemes including the prestigious Cannes Residence, Binger Film Lab, Sundance Lab, Berlin Talent Campus, Microwave Project and Screen International’s “Stars of Tomorrow”.

Services for International Students

LFS runs Q&A@LFS, a termly season of screenings and conversations with leading and emerging filmmakers. These nights help feed contemporary debates and new work into full time teaching.

Location

It is situated in Covent Garden, a few hundred yards from Soho, the nerve centre of the UK film business.

Alumni

Notable alumni include directors Michael Mann, Mike Leigh, Duncan Jones, Marius Holst, Brad Anderson, Bill Douglas, Horace Ove, Maysoon Pachachi, Ann Hui, John Irvin, Miguel Pereira, Don Boyd, Les Blair, Franc Roddam, Oliver Hermanus, Babak Jalali, producers Iain Smith, Mark Forstater, Barry Navidi, Boaz Davidson cinematographers Roger Pratt, Tak Fujimoto, Curtis Clark, David Scott, Geoffrey Simpson, Ueli Steiger, Ivan Strasburg, Philip Blaubach, Ole Bratt Birkeland, Eric Wilson editors Mark Goldblatt, Kant Pan, Robert Leighton and writers Arnold Wesker, David Thomson, Herschel Weingrod and Iain Sinclair.