San Francisco Art And Film Program

Programs: Film workshopfilm professionals help students produce their own prize winning films. Students are given hands on experience in editing, lighting, photography and directing. The workshop is held on every sunday for seven months of the year. The film workshop is one of our most successful programs. Our students films are screened at festivals across the country and abroad and a majority of our graduating students enter film schools of their choice, many of them continuing on to work in the film industry.

art saturday programstudents meet weekly with mentors for visits to art galleries and museums which are followed up by the viewing and discussion of serious contemporary or classic films. Art saturdays are open to any student who is interested in attending. It offers a perfect way for suburban students to become more familiar and relaxed about moving around the city, and it is an opportunity for students to meet other students from different schools who share their interest in art. Volunteer mentors and the program director, ronald chase, join students to discuss the past weeks events, have coffee, and introduce the days agenda. The group then visits art galleries or museum shows where mentors encourage students to talk about the art, helping students to develop their ideas about what art can be as well as help with their vocabulary, critical judgment and ability to conceptualize. Our monthly trips to san francisco museum of modern art begin in the new education center with a series of videos on exhibits they will see that day. Often commercial galleries invite their exhibiting artists to speak with art & film students.

cine-clubfree screenings of classic films held every friday during the school year. Students are given a thorough introduction to the films and their directors before each screening. Mentors and film critics lead an after film discussion. Attendance ranges from 50 to 100 students. Screenings include a cartoon, excerpts from related films or a famous short film, a feature, and a group discussion. Cine/club invites parents, mentors, filmmakers and critics to join in the discussions that follow the presentation. Films are chosen to give students a background in the history of serious film and to thrill and excite them about the scope and breath of great filmmaking. The discussion helps students explore their ideas in depth. They are always encouraged to share their personal observations, likes and dislikes. Its the discussions which most students find are a terrific way for them to become savvy about film.