The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema enjoys a long-standing reputation as one of Canada’s foremost environments for the study and creation of moving images. The School is the largest, university-based centre for the study of film animation, film production and film studies in Canada. Each year we accept some 200 students from across Canada and abroad into our undergraduate and graduate programs.

MHSoC programs are distinguished from many others by the fact that we are a part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and each program approaches the subject matter primarily as a means of artistic expression. Our central aim is to prepare students to become filmmakers, film animators, film historians, critics and theorists with a two fold awareness: on the one hand, of the artistic and cultural potential of their medium and, on the other, of its history and traditions.

Although programs are oriented towards art and culture, financial and commercial aspects of filmmaking are also addressed. Film Animation and Film Production are “hands-on” programs involving intensive aesthetic as well as technical education. MHSoC attempts to strike a balance between practical aspects and purely creative ones, just as it recognizes that art can reflect both social and aesthetic concerns.

Students are instructed by internationally acclaimed faculty who encourage them to develop expertise in traditional and non-traditional techniques. Film Animation and Film Production programs integrate digital and analogue technologies, and aim to integrate studio learning with historical and critical inquiry. Film Studies programs address the history of the medium as well as the impact of moving images on new technologies; cultivating an appreciation of classical and contemporary approaches to the study of cinema.

MHSoC aims to graduate film artists and scholars who appreciate both the medium’s history and its potential. We acknowledge our students as active participants in the creation and development of contemporary cinema. Each year our graduates join a thriving group of alumni who continue to distinguish themselves as leading contemporary artists, curators, critics and educators.

Daniel Cross, noted documentary filmmaker and producer, currently serves as the Chair of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.