MFA Social Documentary Film Program at the School of Visual Arts

Documentary films have helped shape our history and, more importantly, the stories we tell about ourselves.

This program guides and supports emerging artists to explore fully the social documentary film form and, in so doing, to find innovative ways to examine and communicate the core experiences and events that define us.

With the advent of digital filmmaking, the Internet and social networking, as well as the technologies available in camera, sound and editing—the potential to make films, and share them with an audience, has become accessible to almost everyone. However, the artistry of storytelling and the trained ability to make successful creative decisions can be elusive. Our MFA in Social Documentary Film gives students the opportunity to learn how to find and capture important stories that speak to varied audiences on subjects of public concern, within a social, political and cultural consciousness that can change how we view our world.