By Alexandria Woolfe
Brooklyn College’s very own Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema was recently ranked #25 by The Hollywood Reporter on their list of top 25 film schools in North America. The ranking comes after a transition year under Richard Gladstein, Feirstein’s new executive director and a two-time Academy Award-nominated producer. Gladstein’s producing credits include “Pulp Fiction,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “She’s All That,” “Jackie Brown,” and “The Bourne Identity.”
New implementations at the school created by Gladstein over the past year include masterclasses with renowned directors, such as Gus Van Sant, and various panels with Gladstein’s industry peers and connections. Students recently took part in an artist-in-residence seminar with the filmmakers behind HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness.”
Speaking on the ranking, Gladstein stated in a Brooklyn College press release, “It is a wonderful testament to our creative students, staff, and faculty. It’s an incredibly exciting time in the film industry, and we are proud to help nurture the next, great generation of diverse storytellers.”
In addition to The Hollywood Reporter’s list, MovieMaker also ranked Feirstein as one of the top film schools in the Northeast region of the US, highlighting the school’s outstanding production training.
“This is a great school to get an MFA in cinema arts and learn a specialized skill such as directing, cinematography or editing,” reads the article.
Discussing the three-year program in depth, Gladstein told MovieMaker, “We are a production-oriented, hands-on program where students will make a minimum of five films. We create an atmosphere where the making of projects is paramount and collaboration is taught and mandatory.”
Gladstein accepted the acknowledgment by crediting his Feirstein peers. “Feirstein has assembled a faculty and staff with incredible talents and experience who are dedicated to nurturing the next generation of diverse storytellers,” he released in a statement.
Soon-to-be Feirstein graduate Devon Narine-Singh feels that the ranking is well deserved.
“The professors are all very prominent, and it’s all at a great price,” Singh, a Screen Studies major, told The Vanguard. “It’s a new school, there is a lot happening there. I can’t really speak to the production side, but it does seem like they really made an effort to bring interesting speakers.”
With this honor, the school is also being shown support by the undergraduate film school at Brooklyn College.
“Feirstein plays an invaluable role in offering graduate students an unparalleled experience,” Maria Conelli, the Dean of the School of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, told The Vanguard. “Whether it is regularly connecting students with accomplished artists in the filmmaking industry or teaching from an operating film lot, it is easy to see why Feirstein is being recognized with other leading programs across the country.”