Beijing Film Academy, a renowned public institution, stands as one of China's premier film and art universities. Founded in 1950, it has garnered international recognition for its exceptional contributions to the global film industry and artistic education. Distinguishing itself through a rich history of producing influential filmmakers and artists, the academy has consistently ranked among the world's top institutions for film and art-related studies, reflecting its commitment to excellence and innovation.

Our courses in the program have been divided into four categories: Production, Technique, Technology, Historical and Theoretical classes. At least 50% of all courses will be taught in the Production aspect, which gives our students a hands-on approach to film making.

We believe that students must navigate the world of film making by first examining all of its parts and figuring out which part fits best for them.

First Year, Term 1:
Visual Narrative 1
Camera technique basics
Visual Art History
Post-production of Photography
Photography 1
Chinese Basics
Society Study

First Year, Term 2:
Visual Narrative 2
Photography 2
Editing
Cultural Comparison
Basic Cinematography
Chinese Basics

Sophomore Year, Term 3:
Lighting Basics
Film History
Basic Screenwriting
Film Sound
Documentary Film Production
Chinese Culture and Language 1
Society Study

Sophomore Year, Term 4:
Experimental Image
Basic Visual Effect
Producing
Acting
Film Genre
Chinese Culture and Language 2

Junior Year, Term 5:
Advanced Screen writing
Advance Technique of Cinematography
Advance Cinematography
Digital Image technique

Junior Year, Term 6:
Directing
Advanced CGI training
Thesis Film making

Senior Year:
The 4th year is offered to students who will take part in the exchanging workshop (Selected while going out of China) with NFA (Netherland Film Academy) or KAFA (Korean Academy of Film Art). Also, students could select a sure professor as his/her tutor of a thesis film.

What’s more, students in the 4th year could take part in the evaluation of financial support project from the department which could get money and equipment to shoot a perfect thesis film. No matter whether they won the evaluation, they could still get equipment support from the department to shoot the thesis film during the whole academy year.

Students will be guided by their professors throughout the conception of their thesis film idea, to writing a script then scheduling and budgeting, to pre-production and storyboarding, and eventually to the shooting and editing stages and the completion of the film.

If students could finish the thesis film before April 30th, they could take part in the Cinerent Award which could get lots of attention from the Chinese film industry. Also, that might be offered opportunities to work with some famous filmmakers.

China has become the world’s fastest-growing film market. In 2012, China witnessed a box office of $ 2.7 billion, becoming the world’s second largest film market after the United States. With an annual output of over 600 feature films, China now has a growing need for filmmaking talents.

We welcome young people from all over the world who love movie industry and are willing to work in filmmaking area to join BFA and learn the art and skill of filmmaking together with Chinese students. We hope film talents from different cultural backgrounds can mingle and grow together here in BFA.

Campus

Beijing Film Academy just has one campus, located in No.4 Xi tu cheng street HAIDIAN District Beijing.

The school is equipped with four professional studios that contain the latest in state-of-the-art equipment from the industries top suppliers such as ARRI, Red, Sony, Kino Flo, Panther and Steadicam. Modern Post-production and color grading facilities are also available such as Quantel and Da Vinci. Our library covers an area of 2057 square meters with the collection of 325,600 books and 1897.0GB e-books.

Throughout the year we host some of Asia’s major film festivals including The International Student Film and Video Festival. We also invite big name Directors, Actors, Producers and Cinematographers. Past guests have included James Cameron and Ang Lee.

About Cinematography Department

The Cinematography Department was established along with the Beijing Film Academy in 1950. For over 50 years the department has educated hundreds of specialized technicians who have made an impact not only in the Chinese film industry, but have gone on to be a part of exciting international productions.

The importance of the look and tone of a film falls on the Cinematographer or Director of Photography. That’s why at our department we not only pride ourselves on teaching the latest cutting edge techniques but we also finds a way for students to express their own individual language about the image.

Our department has faculty who have studied both locally and abroad and therefore we can offer a unique perspective about Eastern and Western techniques of shooting a film. Over the years the faculty, both old and new, have developed refined methods of teaching where students can easily grasp advanced concepts.

Students are given the opportunity to work with the newest camera and lighting equipment since we have partnerships will all the major camera companies like Arri and Red. We also believe that giving our students on-set experience is an essential step in the learning process.

Living in University

Beijing Film Academy organizes various activities for international students like Chinese Cultural Tours, visiting classical operas and other traditional art events, tea parties etc. BFA holds different forums and festivals.