The internationally recognised film course, founded in 1991, has been part of the Hamburg Media School program since autumn 2004.

Goals
The two-year Film Program is designed to prepare scriptwriters, producers, directors, and cinematographers for a successful start in their chosen profession. Most of the program is made up of project work and hands-on experience. Theory is continually reinforced with practical experience.
At the end of each term, assisted by experienced tutors, the students will produce a short film under “real world” conditions, with strict limitations regarding their given budget and production timeframe.
Professional specialisation is at the same time accompanied by permanent cooperation between the individual departments and students. Collaboration is at the heart of any television or cinema production and therefore also an essential part of the program. Along these lines the students obtain the mental and practical skills to define their unique imagination and creativity.

Faculty and Lecturers
Hark Bohm founded the Film Program in 1991. The Hamburg producer Katharina Trebitsch was the Hamburg Media School’s Program Director from 2005 to October 2007, when the chair was passed on to her successors Prof. Richard Reitinger and Prof. Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt. Heads of the Departments are Beate Langmaack and Prof. Richard Reitinger (Scriptwriting), Manuela Stehr and Heike Wiehle-Timm (Production), Judith Kaufmann and Achim Poulheim (Cinematography), and Friedemann Fromm and Stefan Krohmer (Directing), supporting the authentic and practical realization of the curriculum.
The faculty and all lecturers are prominent academics or practitioners, certified through their outstanding achievements in the film and television industry.

Structure
The Film Program is made up of four departments:
Scriptwriting, Cinematography, Directing and Production. Each department will accept six students. As part of their final examinations, teams of students produce a short film under “real world” conditions.
In the course of their studies, film students produce a 5-minute, a 10-minute, a documentary as preparation for the final piece, and a 20-minute final piece in teams. Funding of the shorts and of the final piece is guaranteed through the Film course within the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg Media School and its patrons. This ensures that students can complete their course in two years. As opposed to other film schools, students are not required to arrange for funding themselves or to back projects personally, so they will be able to invest all their energy into a creative working atmosphere and the success of their films.

Application and Fees
The next class will start in October 2012. Detailed information on application procedures, requirements and closing dates can be found under the according headings.