The World’s Best Film Schools by the Beach, Presented by New York Film Academy Australia

CANADA

Vancouver Film School

Vancouver has famously lured countless productions from Hollywood—and relocated Angelenos don’t have to give up their love of the ocean. VFS offers a deeply immersive curriculum in film, animation, video game production, VR/AR development, motion and interactive design, programming, art/production foundation, and more. It offers 12 advanced production diploma programs that take a year or less—the one in VR/ AR design and development is just eight months.

Also read: The World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals 2021

But there’s a catch: When you hear about the beaches, you’ll want to stay longer. They include English Beach, the site of beloved fireworks displays; the easy-access Sunset Beach, famed for festivals; Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver’s answer to Venice Beach; and, for your best friend, Hadden Park Dog Beach. More incentives: Kevin Smith, VFS’s creative ambassador for 2020, has hosted an online talk for students and has more initiatives in the works. VFS also just announced a new accelerated program with MetFilm School, allowing students to obtain a master’s degree in as few as two years. And VFS has one of the most popular film school YouTube channels in the world.

Simon Fraser University

The film program in the School of Contemporary Arts at SFU’s Vancouver campus aims for an art-school feel. The film program is cohort-based, meaning students work with a group of peers, progressing together, and working with other SCA students focused on areas including dance, music, theatre, and visual art. Starting in their first semester, undergraduate students produce films and videos in each year. SFU offers a BFA in film, an extended minor in film, or a minor in film and video studies. Filmmakers are also welcome in the MFA program, and SFU is known for close relationships with festivals, federal and provincial media agencies, broadcasters, labs, post-houses, sound houses, and other industry professionals.

In addition SFU’s close proximity to all the other Vancouver beaches we previously listed, the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, one of SCA’s locations, is a mere 10-minute walk to the serene Vancouver Seawall, the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront path. A visit to the Seawall will give you 28 km — that’s more than 17 miles, Americans — to pre-viz your film in your mind.

NEW ZEALAND

Auckland University of Technology

AUT’s Screen Production Major, part of the Bachelor of Communications, is taught by practicing moviemakers versatile in TV and film. The school boasts one of the best TV studio facilities in New Zealand, access to the best digital field equipment, and a major practical project for all students. You’re probably already aware that New Zealand’s handling of COVID-19 has made it the envy of the world.

And the beaches… the beaches. Auckland is built on an isthmus and sits between two harbors. So students can choose from waterfront cafes and restaurants at Wynyard Quarter and Britomart, and waterfront cycling and walking from the central city to Mission Bay along Tamaki Drive. Kohimarama is also popular and accessible by public transport, and orcas and dolphins are known to make inner harbor cameos. Not far away are wild West Coast beaches with strong surf and black sand.

Editor’s note: Though NYFA Australia became the presenter of this World’s Best Film Schools by the Beach list after it was completed, it had no control over editorial content; all the schools are included here on their merits.

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