New York Universityâ€™s Tisch School of the Arts

by MovieMaker Staff | Published December 11, 2006

Thereâ€™s no shortage of famous alums at New York Universityâ€™s Tisch School of the Arts. Martin Scorsese, Amy Heckerling and Marc Forster are just a few of the schoolâ€™s brightest stars, and Spike Lee still hangs around his alma mater, now in a professorial position. Sheril Antonio, associate dean of Film, Television and New Media, attributes these success stories to â€œdemocracy, collaboration and individuality.â€ She says that â€œTisch offers its highly unique and sometimes irreverent students two seemingly conflicting things: A democratic education where each individual gets the same education and, in the spirit of collaboration, formulates his or her own visionary style of storytelling in the visual media.â€

Founded in 1965, the Tisch School of the Arts has been continually growing to meet the needs of its student body and remain at the head of a large (and competitive) pack. Already considered one of the most prestigious film programs in the country, Tisch will branch out into the international film community this December with the unveiling of a new campus in Singapore, open to those students pursuing an MFA in Film Production.Remarking on the impact of film schools on the greater moviemaking world, Antonio says: â€œWith the dwindling geography of â€˜independentâ€™ productions, schools have become the new frontier for experimentation and new ways of seeing and storytelling.â€ It is clear that Tisch is leading the way to this new frontier with both expertise and a willingness to change with the times.

For more information, visit www.tisch.nyu.edu.

Sound Off: With studios focusing big-budget movies that aim to conquer the box office, do you think Antonio is correct in saying that â€œfilm schools are the new frontier for filmic experimentation?â€ Talk back in the comments section!