The Colorado Film School is housed in an unassuming building on the Lowry campus of the Community College of Aurora. However, once inside and walking around, the possibilities seem to be endless – as witnessed by a group of Chamber members attending the January 9 Business for the Arts tour of the school.

Brian Steward, director of The Colorado Film School, began the tour in the theatre, with a briefing about the curriculum and a viewing of student work for commercials, through a partnership with Toyota.

The Film School currently offers 48 credit Certificates and 75 credit Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Acting/Directing, Writing/Directing, Writing/Producing, Screenwriting, Cinematography, and Post Production. All first semester students are required to take courses in Production I, Post Production I, and Short Script Analysis, and all students are required to take an acting class – in order to understand film from the other side of the camera. Steward is proud of their ‘Safe Acting’ course, taught by Galina Boulgakova, as it’s important for actors to be able to disengage from difficult roles.

With a tri-fold mission of training students for careers in the film and video industries, serving as a catalyst for local film and video production, and serving as an industry-wide resource for research and development in production, CFS faculty ensure that graduating students are prepared for their next step, whether that’s working or more education in the field. CFS also hosts summer camp sessions for Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA) youth, as well as local high school students.

“It’s all about telling stories through metaphors and through film – and it’s a lot more work than most people can imagine,” said Steward. “But our students and faculty are dedicated to their craft, to working together, and to creating incredible film products.”

When asked about the future of the School, Steward shared that he would like to be able to offer a four-year degree, but admitted that that would certainly require expanded facilities, faculty, and funding. “It’s good to dream, and we will keep that dream in mind – and we even have a plan for a four-year program, but for now we will continue to provide two and three-year degrees that are educating incredible filmmakers and citizens of the world.