Beijing Film Academy

Beijing Film Academy is Asia’s largest and a world-renowned specialist film institution. Administered by Beijing Municipality, it is an arts university receiving priority support from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Education. It is known as “the cradle of Chinese film talent.” In the U.S. magazine The Hollywood Reporter’s rankings of the world’s 25 best film schools in 2011 and 2012, it ranked third worldwide for two consecutive years.

Size

Beijing Film Academy covers 105 mu. It has over 3000 full-time degree students and approximately 3000 adult undergraduate and junior-college students, international students, in-service postgraduate students, postgraduate course participants, visiting students and trainees. A new campus covering 667 mu is under construction, with a planned capacity of 6000 full-time students.

Educational characteristics

Through the sustained efforts of several generations, the academy has developed a multilevel, diverse film professional training system centered on undergraduate teaching and covering junior-college, undergraduate, master’s and doctoral study, continuing education and international student education. In June 2007, it passed the Ministry of Education’s undergraduate teaching evaluation with an “Excellent” rating.

Faculty

Beijing Film Academy has 527 faculty and staff, including 287 full-time teachers: 59 professors and 120 associate professors; 21 doctoral supervisors and 158 master’s supervisors; and 26 experts receiving special government allowances. Most teachers are experts, scholars, disciplinary leaders and outstanding young and middle-aged teachers in film education in China and abroad, or film artists. They have won numerous domestic and international awards for film and television production.

Disciplines and programs

The academy has three first-level disciplines: drama and film studies, fine arts, and art theory. It has 5 departments—literature, directing, cinematography, film studies, and film and television technology—and 11 schools: acting, sound, fine arts, animation, management, photography, international exchange, digital media, audiovisual media, vocational education and continuing education. Together with its graduate school, basic studies department and training center, it has 19 teaching units. These cover every profession and stage in film production. It is the only institution able to independently produce feature films. Its overall strength in film studies leads China and ranks among the world’s best.

Facilities

Its Digital Film Technology and Art Laboratory is a Beijing key laboratory. Its recording laboratory is the only university laboratory in China certified by Dolby, an international authority in sound. Its Sound Experimental Center is a Beijing experimental teaching demonstration center, and its Hengdian Film and Television Social Practice Base is a Beijing off-campus talent training base. Teaching and research equipment is valued at at least RMB 280000 per student, adequately meeting the needs of teaching, research and artistic creation by teachers and students.

International exchanges

The academy is one of the nine most influential higher education institutions in Beijing for international student education and teaching. It has repeatedly received the title of Beijing Advanced Unit in International Student Teaching and Management.

Research and creative strength

The academy’s Youth Film Studio both organizes and guides students’ practical filmmaking and produces faculty artistic innovation projects. According to incomplete statistics, films it has created or co-created have won 77 domestic and international film awards. Of the more than 10000 films produced since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, approximately 70% have had the academy’s teachers, students or alumni in key creative roles. Teachers and graduates have repeatedly won major national awards, including the Golden Rooster Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards, government Huabiao Awards and national “Five-One Project” Awards, with award-winning films numbering in the hundreds of titles or instances. Teachers and graduates have also won numerous awards at major international film events, including the Oscars and the Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Tokyo film festivals.