PrintSchool of the Arts alumna Liz Chae is excited about her new film—a documentary about Jeju-do, a Korean island infamous as a place of exile for political prisoners. “It was used as a military base, and [it] was extremely hard to survive. A lot of people would die of starvation and would be vulnerable to attack from all these countries,” she explains.
This is Chae’s second film. Her first, “The Last Mermaids,” is a 19-minute documentary about female Korean sea divers she made as a student at Columbia’s graduate film program. That film won the top prize at the Student Academy Awards. Chae also received a Fulbright award and is now going to Korea to do research for her next movie. She joins the ranks of the many Columbia alumni who have had recent success in the film industry.
Quickly scanning the School of the Arts’ Web site reveals that a staggering amount of the last decade’s notable films are affiliated with Columbia alumni: “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Man on Wire,” “Walk the Line,” and “Superbad,” just to name a few. The range is incredible, from Academy Award winners to summer blockbusters to acclaimed indie films. But why have Columbia alumni reached so much success within the last decade?
One answer to this question can be found in the students who apply to the program. Many, like Chae, work in various jobs in film and production before coming to Columbia. As Chae explains, she always dreamed of telling stories like “The Last Mermaids.” She picked Columbia because it was the “perfect place for us [sic] finding our voice.”
Richard Pena, a professor at the School of the Arts, also notes that Columbia’s good reputation has also inspired a number of foreign filmmakers to apply to Columbia. “The name of Columbia on the outside is important … People are attracted to Columbia because of the clear and effective technique of screen writing,” he says. “And people are attracted to coming to New York.”
The success of many film alumni can also be partially attributed to the school’s first-year core program, which was instated ten years ago by film professor Lewis Cole. All first year graduate students take the same courses: directing, producing, screenwriting, and directing the actor. “This is the mark of what other schools don’t have—a unique, integrated model,” Jamal Joseph, chair of the graduate film program, notes.
Each student therefore takes classes that focus on production roles they normally wouldn’t play, learning the intricacies of directing, producing and screenwriting rather than concentrating on one aspect of film. This allows them to communicate their ideas more effectively because they have a better understanding of what each responsibility is. Students also collaborate frequently, writing a film that will be produced and directed by their classmates.
With the film core comes a heavy emphasis on storytelling. As Joseph adds, “Columbia really emphasizes story and character as the real heart and soul of the film, added with strong directing craft, good acting, etc.” Chae says that she considered more technically focused schools but decided on Columbia because of this narrative-based philosophy.
When professor and 1992 School of Arts graduate Maureen Ryan was talking about “Man On Wire,” a documentary she produced, in a class Chae took, Ryan asked her students what genre the documentary could be ascribed to. “I wasn’t even aware documentaries had genres,” Chae sheepishly admits. She quickly learned that just because documentaries focus on facts doesn’t mean that they can’t tell a great narrative story.
The reputation of Columbia’s film program has skyrocketed, mainly because of the film core. Joseph noted that at Sundance in 2008, “We had about 14 [or] 15 pictures … One of the people there said, ‘I can always tell a Columbia film: strongly filmed, written, directed.’ And that’s what we’re known for.” One of those Columbia films, School of the Arts graduate Courtney Hunt’s “Frozen River,” won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize.
Columbia’s program asserts that strong storytelling and character development, rather than technical aspects, are the true characteristics of a good film. With that in mind, the professors at the graduate film program have built a curriculum that embodies Columbia University’s overall philosophy: success stems from a strong core that makes students explore different perspectives. That passion and philosophy drives Columbia alumni to find success with their medium and allows filmmakers like Chae to tell their stories through a disciplined—but ultimately holistic—lens.