Central Film School London

Central Film School was established in 2008 to offer highly personal and practical teaching by working professionals.  

Central Film School delivers relevant, practical training in a supportive, collaborative and creative environment. Small and friendly, the school provides continuous access to tutors and has one of the highest student-equipment ratios of any school in the UK.

The school is a partner of the Bertha Foundation, a charitable organisation which champions forms of activism that bring about change. In line with the foundation's goals, Central Film School aims to nurture talent and support content creation that can change things in our world, which is why we've introduced new MA courses in social impact documentary and directing fiction.

All of our tutors are working film industry professionals and include those at the forefront of new and emerging technologies.  

One of the key teachings at the film school is that while technical proficiency in filmmaking is necessary, this cannot engage and entertain an audience without a genuine focus on story.

We want to develop students with a thorough and robust appreciation of original, visual storytelling - studying an 'idea generation' process to provoke fresh and innovative approaches to narrative.

The school admits a maximum of one hundred students across all programmes each year in order to keep class sizes intimate and friendly, to ensure maximum interaction with tutors, and to give great access to all our equipment and facilities.

Why Choose Central Film School?

1.  Industry Professionals

Our policy is to use only Film and TV Industry professionals to teach at the school.  We also hold regular masterclasses which have included Oscar winners such as Sir Ronald Harwood (screenwriter, The Pianist) and Barry Ackroyd BSC (cinematographer, The Hurt Locker).  Fabian Wagner, cinematographer of Games of Thrones, recently held a masterclass with our students.

2.  Employment

Our curriculum is designed to prepare students for employment once they finish their courses.  Student receive relevant careers advice throughout the year from the working industry professionals who teach at the school.  Our courses, as recognised by the Quality Assurance Agency, prepare graduates for employment by providing them with the skills demanded by employers not only in the film, and television industries but also, increasingly, in the world of video games.  At the end of their programme, students pitch their work to a panel of industry professionals. A Careers Advice Day is organised at the end of each course to help students with their future film industry careers.  91% of our graduates secured paid employment in the film industry within six months of graduating.  

"After finishing the course I went straight to work and I am currently working on my second feature. Joining Central Film School was one of the best decisions I ever made as I got to spend so much time on sets during my course!" — Louis Devereux, CFS Filmmaker of the Year

3.  Highly Specialised Curriculum

We have an excellent tutor to student ratio and our courses involve a higher than normal proportion of scheduled contact hours to reflect the higher level of practical, professional skills taught on the programmes.  Students are taught in small group sizes and specialist seminar groups.  We like to get to know each of our students, to discover their long-term career ambitions, and to offer a bespoke student experience.

Students are encourage to act in each others' films in the first term so they can see what it is like to be in front of the camera as well as behind it.  However, the school also uses professional actors to act in most projects students work on, as well as teach acting techniques for camera.

Our course fee includes production budgets and actor costs.  There are absolutely no hidden costs.  (If you are applying to more than one film school, this is a really good question to ask as you'll find that most places expect you to pay for actors, for example, and won't provide a production budget.) 

"I took the intensive course for one month and it was great. It is definitely a good way to start something in the film industry: in only two weeks we managed to produce, shoot, and edit a short film!" — Javi Marrero, One Month Intensive Practical Filmmaking course

4.  Facilities

The school has an enviable supply of industry standard equipment that students are able to use throughout their courses and can also be used outside of class times (during the evening, weekend or holiday) for their own personal projects.

The school has a 25-seat screening theatre with 5.1 surround sound as well as a fully air-conditioned studio.  The school collaborates with other studios to give students the best possible experience.  As part of the curriculum, the school organises tours to high spec studios such as Shepperton Studios.  Students are allowed to use our equipment & facilities for their personal projects, subject to availability.

The school uses the latest filmmaking and editing software available - including Adobe Premiere and Creative Cloud.  All iMacs are equipped with Pro Tools, Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling, and Microsoft Office.

5.  Location

Central Film School's main site is in Universal House in the heart of Shoreditch, London's most vibrant cultural quarter.  The school looks out on London's famous Brick Lane, which has over a hundred bars, clubs, restaurants, galleries and arts venues, and fashion markets. The school has very easy access by the train, tube and bus.  Central Film School is a few minutes away from four underground stations while Liverpool Street mainline train station is a 12-minute walk.

6.  Graduation Gala Screening & ALUMNI

In recognition of the outstanding quality of work produced by students who have trained at Central Film School, we are delighted to host an Industry showcase screening each year at Curzon (Soho or Bloomsbury).

Student films are screened for friends and family, as well as industry contacts, before an Awards Ceremony, offering prizes including:

• Best Director
• Best Producer
• Screenwriter of the Year
• Best Feature Screenplay
• Audience Award for Best Film
• Filmmaker of the Year

After graduation we assist our graduates with production advice, access to facilities and equipment in order to continue to support the creative and professionals goals of our growing network of alumni.

7.  Free Curzon Pass

All full-time students receive a free One-Year Cinema Pass for Curzon Cinemas.