MFA in Film and MFA in TV Writing Virtual Information Session
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6 pm EST
Join faculty Christine Vachon, Alan Kingsberg and others to learn about our MFAs in Film and TV Writing at Stony Brook Manhattan on Wednesday, February 25 at 6 pm.
Applications are open for the MFA in TV Writing and MFA in Film for Fall 2026.
Directing
Introducing a focus on directing that brings together the best of the Indie Film World
"Our goal is to turn the traditional film school model on its head."
- Christine Vachon, Co-Founder, Killer Films and Stony Brook MFA in Film Artistic Director
Our Focus: Harnessing the Power of Image + Sound
Year One
The focus of the first year is craft, collaboration, and inspiration.
In Fall, the curriculum is lock-step. The students take The Master Class in Independent
Film Production with Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler where they learn invaluable
industry information and make their short film pitches. Additionally, they take courses
in writing the short film, directing, dogme, and study the tools of production.
In Spring, students work together to shoot scripts they wrote in fall, while choosing
from a selection of classes in screenwriting, Advanced Master Class, Editing, Acting
for Directors, and Production I. The first year culminates with a first year screening
early Fall semester.
Year Two
The focus of the second year is developing a personal artistic vision.
Students continue to study craft in screenwriting, television writing, directing, and producing, while they work on developing the longer form projects they wish to realize. Spring semester begins with Cinematography II for those who wish to get more hands-on experience with the Red Epic-W, followed by the production of their second year short film.
The year culminates with a screening of second year films early Fall semester.
Year Three
Thesis:
With a unique vision and clear plan for execution, thesis students direct projects
of significant artistic merit - whether they be short films, webisodes, television
pilots, proof of concepts, or features. Students work with an advisor and present
the finished film to an advisory board.
OR
Opt-In Third Year
For all those directors and writers who want to do more work on their craft, we have created an opt-in third year— a series of courses in support of ambitious thesis projects prior to undertaking them.
Prod III provides an opportunity to make an additional short before thesis. Students bring in a completed and pre-approved shoot-ready short which they develop visually and logistically for the first third of the semester, and shoot in the middle third of the semester. Final third of the semester will be dedicated to post, including the edit rewrite and the impact of sound design. Students are expected to end the semester with a finished short film. Shot on the Red Camera.
In our Ultralow Budget Feature track, students take a course in the fall and the spring throughout their third year. The goal of the Ultralow Budget track is to shepherd students through the creation of a feature film they can produce for an ultralow or microbudget, mixing innovative production methods with grounded screenwriting techniques to "build" scripts based on the filmmaker's life, resources, and preferred production style. In fall, students write, in spring they prep, and in summer they shoot.
The third course of the Ultralow Budget Feature track is the Thesis Directing Workshop in which student directors prepare their directorial approach. This is an individual coaching process to help students move into their shoots with confidence in their material and a clear sense of their own creative voice.
Meet some of our directing faculty:
When performance, image, sound, and rhythm synchronize to create a great moment, all
of the hardship of making films can slip away long enough for us to feel a unique
sense of fulfillment. - Niav Conty
"There is the chance for magic to happen on set." - Jennie Allen
“In filmmaking, collaboration is paramount. No one succeeds in this industry alone.”
- Perry Blackshear
"I LIVE for the editing room. Free of cameras, c-stands, traffic lock ups, cranky actors and frazzled crew!" - Jordan Roberts
Stony Brook University at the Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film, in partnership with legendary independent producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, co-founders of Killer Films, offer an MFA in Film. Inspired by Killer Films' 30-year, 100-film history of taking great original stories and turning them into some of the most beloved independent films, including this year's Past Lives and May December, and the Academy Award-favorites First Reformed, Carol, Still Alice, Boys Don't Cry, and Far From Heaven, coupled with Lichtenstein Center's illustrious history of having one of the most prestigious Creative Writing & Literature programs in the country; this collaborative but rigorous film program is guiding aspiring artists to be creative, forward-thinking, entrepreneurial, and professionally relevant in today's world.
We bring some of today's top film luminaries to work with our students:
Todd Haynes: May December, Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I'm Not There, Carol, Dark Waters, The Velvet
Underground
Alexander Payne: The Descendants, Nebraska
Jon Robin Baitz: Brothers and Sisters, West Wing
Peter Hedges: What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Dan in Real Life
Wash Westmoreland: Still Alice, Quinceanara
James Schamus: Eat Drink Man Woman, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
John Krokidas: Kill Your Darlings, Shame No More
Sebastian Silva: Nasty Baby, Crystal Fairy & the Magic Cactus, The Maid
Ramin Bahrani: Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Plastic Bag, At Any Price
Ed Burns: Brothers McMullan, She's the One, Nice Guy Johnny
Mary Harron: I Shot Andy Warhol, Notorious Betty Page
Doug McGrath: Bullets Over Broadway, Nicholas Nickleby
Tom Kalin: Swoon
Susan Seidelman: Desperately Seeking Susan
To join our distinguished community of artists and visual storytellers, the first step is to apply.
Equipment
The program features an impressive range of industry standard camera, light, grip and sound equipment. Highlights include the RED Epic-W, Canon C200, Canon Cine Prime Lenses, Canon Zoom Lenses, wireless focus and video systems, Aputure 600D and 60X LEDs, Kino Flos, ARRI 4 and 3 Light Kits, Astra Lite Panels, Tascam and Zoom Field Recorders, RODE, AT and Sennheiser Shotguns, Countryman Lavs, Dollys, Sliders, and several one ton grip packages. Our edit lab includes iMacs equipped with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and DaVinci Resolve.
Be a part of the Stony Brook MFA in Film experience!