The New York Film Academy (NYFA) Documentary Filmmaking Department is one of only eight film schools honored in the prestigious “Documentary” Magazine, the official publication of the International Documentary Association (IDA), in an article exploring the advantages of pursuing an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking.
In reading the article titled The MFA Considered: A Sampling of Programs that Tackle the Current Marketplace by Akiva Gottlieb, one of the ways that NYFA stands out among the other programs explored, is expressed in the sentence: “Within two weeks of the first class, students will be making films.” None of the other programs make this claim.
NYFA also offers the unique opportunity for a bi-coastal MFA experience. Students can opt to spend their first year studying in New York City and the second year in Los Angeles, or may opt to spend both years in LA.
As NYFA New York City Documentary Filmmaking Chair Andrea Swift notes, NYFA’s degree and conservatory programs are guided by the principal that students “learn to make documentaries by making documentaries.”
Los Angeles Chair of Documentary Sanora Bartels concurs, noting, “The most important element of making documentaries is story. Our students are not just hands-on with equipment, they’re researching, they’re out in the community, they’re finding that story.”
Two years of intense research and production culminate in a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary. NYFA also stands apart in offering an intensive Documentary Filmmaking Conservatory on both coasts. This allows students the alternative of finishing their studies in One-Year, should they opt to earn a certificate, and 36 transferrable hours, rather than the advanced degree.