The school provides the tools to head start your artistic career with – write, film, portray the reality, create the worlds of your own, find your starting point.

From the first days of training, students are involved in a variety of practical work, from writing a script to creating a film. Such engagement strategy was made possible by SNCS teaching stuff – accomplished professionals of Russian and European cinema, currently active in the industry.

Russian and foreign directors and screenwriters conduct classes and workshops, which can last from three days to three months. Each guest director or screenwriter has a signature style and unique artistic voice. Working with different tutors allows our students to learn a broad spectrum of approaches to filmmaking, which will help them to develop their own vision.

At the St. Petersburg New Cinema School directing craft is passed “hand to hand”. The course is taught only by those Russian and European creators who are involved in present-day film production. In the 2000s, they reinterpreted the changing global picture, developed their unique approaches to storytelling and cinematography, introduced new characters and created a new visual style.

Within each of the programs, students go through every step of creating a film under the guidance of their tutors — from an idea to a script, from a script to shooting, from shooting to editing and sound design. To make that possible, our school provides all the necessary filmmaking equipment: professional video cameras, sound recorders, editing and recording studios.

The directing course is based on a well-balanced ratio of theory and practice that is crucial to master the profession. Our carefully tailored curriculum includes lectures, courses, practical classes, and workshops.

The educational process forms a unique creative environment, encouraging a dialogue between directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, actors, sound engineers and film critics.

Course objective:

To develop a highly qualified film director, who obtains all the theoretical and practical tools required to create a film.

Specialty of a graduate of the directing program:

"Feature film director"

By the end of the 2-year program students complete the following projects:

• a short film (course project)
• a fiction film (graduation project)
• a feature film script

Students learn from multiple experts, instead of being trained by a single mentor how it usually is in most creative schools. The school's curriculum consists of a number of educational “modules” lasting from one week to one semester. Such structure is similar to those of La Fémis film and television school in Paris and at the DFFB academy in Berlin.

• Department of cinematography

The cinematography department provides our directing students with an opportunity to produce their films in collaboration with cinematography students.

• Screenwriting

Directing students have an opportunity to develop their ideas and create scripts in collaboration with screenwriting students.

• Sound engineering

Directing students have an opportunity to collaborate with sound engineering students on production of their films.

• Interacting with leading professionals of the filmmaking industry

Directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and producers are regularly invited to SNCS to guest-teach and conduct workshops for our students.