Founded in 1951, the Film Academy Vienna, as an innovative institution for the training and continuing education of film and television professionals, has become an integral component of the film sector. The Academy succeeds in aligning proven teaching methods with the increasing need for interdisciplinarity and is thus able to meet the ever-changing challenges of the field. The focus here is on the individual, creative development of the students, which is promoted through a curriculum emphasising filmmaking as a craft.

The Film Academy Vienna is the only interdisciplinary educational institution in Austria for the departments Directing, Screenwriting, Cinematography, Edition, Production and Digital Art – Compositing. Around 120 students are instructed by 60 professors, lecturers and freelance experts. 80 films of all genres and formats are realized every year. Invitations to renowned film festivals such as the Festival de Cannes, the Locarno Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival or the Montréal World Film Festival testify to the high quality of the student works.
In recent years, students of the Film Academy Vienna have won countless awards: among them several times in a row the FIRST STEPS AWARD, the most important award for young filmmakers in the German-speaking world, and even the Student Academy Award (bronze), as well as an Oscar nomination in the category “Best Live Action Short Film”. The Hollywood Reporter has listed the Film Academy Vienna as one of the best 15 film schools in the world for over five years.

The Film Academy Vienna is a place of action. With an extensive production structure, from technology to the studio, it handles a large number of internships and promotes concentrated team-building and gathering the necessary experience in all areas of filmmaking. The Academy’s exercise character is aimed at providing freedom; the individual areas of study have an advisory function in this regard, and the teacher-student ratio of about 1:4 ensures a correspondingly intense exchange.
In addition to the artistic production operation with a focus on the development and appreciation of the arts, theory and research represent a younger component of the Department.

Austria