Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Film School (VFS) is a private entertainment arts school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1987, it has achieved international recognition.[1] The Vancouver Film School has campus locations around Downtown Vancouver and comprises six buildings.[2] As part of the school's 20th anniversary in 2007, in August 2006 one million dollars was set aside in scholarships for new students.[3] In March, 2008, Vancouver Film School and YouTube launched a competition for three full-tuition scholarships for the creators of the three videos submitted and voted as favorites by the YouTube community.[4]
![]() | |
Type | Private |
---|---|
Established | 1987 |
President | James Griffin |
Location | , , |
Website | Vancouver Film School |
History
VFS opened in January 1987 with a single class of six film students[5] and has steadily expanded since. Recent milestones in the school's history include hosting the annual Game Design Expo in Vancouver, which began in January 2007,[6] and partnering with YouTube to launch a 2008 scholarship competition for the creators of three videos submitted and voted upon by the YouTube community.[4]
In 2018, VFS announced three 'Kevin Smith Scholarships' in Acting, Writing and Film Production covering full-tuition. Thirteen partial-scholarships were also awarded, funded by Smith. Smith personally selected the recipients from over nine hundred applications.[7] In February 2019, the school announced the 'Emily Bett Rickards Acting Scholarship', a partnership between VFS and Rickards, to fund a full scholarship for both of the school's acting programmes, as well as additional partial funding of $250,000 for other students. Rickards will also select the recipients.[8] In May of the same year, VFS announced they would be supporting Vancouver-based Reality Curve Theatre in their off-Broadway production of Zayd Dohrn's Reborning, headlined by Rickards, to be performed at the SoHo Playhouse.[9]
Programs for Vancouver film school
VFS offers one-year, hands-on production programs,[10] including Film Production, 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Classical Animation, Acting for Film & Television, Digital Design, Entertainment Business Management, Foundation Visual Art & Design, Game Design, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Sound Design for Visual Media, and Writing for Film & Television. The school also runs a four-month Acting Essentials course and a 6-month Digital Character Animation program.[11]
Notable faculty
- Michael S. Baser, head of Writing for Film & Television – writer/producer whose credits include Good Times, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, and Maude (TV series).[12]
- Mark Busse, instructor – founder & managing director of industrial brand, founder & host of CreativeMornings in Vancouver, author of "Design School Didn't Tell You..." column in Design Edge Magazine.
- Stan Edmonds, head of Makeup Design for Film & Television – key makeup artist on The Butterfly Effect, Get Carter, and Scary Movie, and makeup department head on I, Robot.
- Marv Newland, instructor – animator of the 1969 short Bambi Meets Godzilla.
Notable alumni
- Magda Apanowicz – actor known for her roles as Andy Jensen on the TV series Kyle XY and Lacy Rand on Caprica.
- Shakun Batra – Bollywood director of Kapoor & Sons" and "Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu".
- Neill Blomkamp – Oscar nominated screenwriter and director of District 9.
- Anugrah Bohrey – writer of Best of Luck (2012 film) and Himmat Singh.
- Sara Canning – series regular (Seasons 1 and 2) on the television series The Vampire Diaries as well as numerous film and television credits.
- Jonathan Cherry – actor in House of the Dead, Final Destination 2, and many other television and film productions.
- Colin Cunningham – actor in television and film on both sides of the border.
- Clint Eland – founder & president of Mercury Filmworks, Canada's largest privately owned animation production studio.
- Hanna Hall – most known for her acting roles in Forrest Gump, The Virgin Suicides and the 2007 remake of Halloween.
- Dave Klein – cinematographer, best known for work with Kevin Smith.
- Neil Kopp – producer of Old Joy and director Gus Van Sant's 2007 film Paranoid Park for which Kopp won a 2008 Independent Spirit Award.[13]
- John G. Lenic – TV producer and production manager best known for his work on Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe.
- Seth Lochhead – writer of Hanna.
- Steve Lund – actor, best known for Schitt’s Creek, Haven and Bitten.
- Niall Matter – actor, best known for Primeval: New World and Eureka.
- Chad Moffitt[14] – Academy Award–winning animator on The Lord of the Rings[15]
- Lon Molnar – co-founder, CEO, and senior visual effects supervisor at Toronto-based visual effects studio Intelligent Creatures.
- Scott Mosier – film producer, editor, and cameo actor who produced the Academy Award-nominated documentary Salim Baba. He met Kevin Smith and cinematographer Dave Klein at VFS, and since graduating, the three have collaborated on the films in the View Askewniverse.[16]
- Andrew Overtoom – Animation Director on SpongeBob SquarePants, for which he was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2007.
- Emily Bett Rickards – actress best known for her role as Felicity Smoak on Arrow.
- Stacey Roy – actor, new media producer and creator of Whabam Media and WHABAM.tv
- Manmord Sidhu – Bollywood producer, director & distributor. He formed a production and distribution company named White Hill Production & White Hill Music.
- Kevin Smith – director of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl and Clerks II; Smith dropped out in 1993[17] and was presented with an honorary diploma in 2005.[18]
- Tara Spencer-Nairn – actor in Corner Gas.
- Jewel Staite – Canadian-born actress famous for her work on Joss Whedon's Firefly, and Stargate: Atlantis.
- Emilie Ullerup – actor in Sanctuary.
- James Wootton – co-director of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
References
- "Hands-on-Pages Interviews | Archives | MovieMaker Magazine". Archived from the original on 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- "Campuses – Life at Vancouver Film School". Archived from the original on 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- "Press Room – This is Vancouver Film School". Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- P, Sara. "The Vancouver Film School/YouTube Scholarship Competition". Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- Shrimpton, James (August 17, 2007). "Vancouver: Welcome to Brollywood". News.com.au. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- Boyer, Brandon (January 16, 2007). "GCG Feature: 'Event Wrap Up: Game Design Expo 2007'". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- Vancouver Film School (January 18, 2019). "Hollywood Film Star Kevin Smith Awards Scholarships to Three Global Recipients to Attend Prestigious Vancouver Film School". Vancouver Film School. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- Vancouver Film School (February 1, 2019). "Emily Bett Rickards Partners with Vancouver Film School, Offering Scholarships up to $250,000". Vancouver Film School. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- Vancouver Film School [@vfs] (May 8, 2019). "We're thrilled to be supporting @RealityCurve & @sohoplayhouse co-production of Reborning. Written by Zayd Dohrn, starring #VFSacting alumni @EmilyBett & @paulpiaskowski (actor/producer) this dark comedy "takes an unsettling look at love, loss, trauma & the power of creation"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Wood, Jennifer (February 3, 2007). "Film Education on a Global Scale". MovieMaker.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- "Programms at VFS". Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- "Michael S. Baser". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
- Neil Kopp
- Chad Moffitt
- "VFS Grad Wins Academy Award – Chad Moffitt is part of Peter Jackson's award-winning visual effects team for Lord of the Rings trilogy. – Digital Character Animation". Archived from the original on 2006-10-23. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- Interviews Askew
- movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020930/bio Kevin Smith Yahoo! Movies Bio
- The Georgia Straight: Too Cool for School?