Enrollments
Graduates
Film Industry Starts
Strike It Big
“40 years ago, I had a vision to open a school that taught the media arts of radio, TV, film and audio using the mentor/apprentice approach to education. When I pitched this idea to the broadcasting school I was working for at the time they laughed at me so I decided to create the school myself and 40 years later, we’re here and they’re not.”
Founder & President
“I’ve been involved with the Film Connection for over 20 years now, and I take great pride in the fact that both James and I are committed to continuously improving our course offerings and expanding our network of movie industry contacts with the end goal of jump starting the film industry careers of our graduates. It’s taken us years to get where we have always wanted to be, but we are proud to say that if you sign up as a student of the Film Connection, and follow Our Formula, you will find a place in the film industry.”
CEO
The Film Connection celebrates 40 years of educating and mentoring future generations of music industry players. The secret to our success? Learning from vast network of movie industry connections we’ve built over those 40 years. Because while who you know matters, it’s who knows you that really moves the needle.
Brian Kraft: Where you learn with the film connection is a very very important point. You’re learning on real film sets as you’re being mentored by a professional filmmaker.
James Petulla: I know it looks too good to be true especially to the parents right if my son or daughter’s gonna be on a film set that’s what happens.
Bayou Bennett: We brought some of our students on set where we were doing music video and it was where they had filmed Inception, Fight Club.
Alex Reyme: We pair them with someone who will be able to meet their specific needs and also someone they will get along with personally.
Brian Kraft: Don’t think that you necessarily have to move to LA.
Tim Atkinson: A lot of states are offering amazing tax incentives to come and film there so if you’re working with production facilities somewhere like Atlanta or Austin, Texas you’re gonna have big huge Hollywood productions coming to you.
Daniel Lir: At a normal four-year film school there’s a lot of holes in the education how do you brand yourself as a director. That’s what these kids can learn one on one from us.
Alex Reyme: You’re on set meeting people who do this for a living that also will be connections in the future.
Tim Atkinson: They’re going to be right by the directors side and the director is going to show them how they go about doing their job.
Alex Reyme: But then on the other side you have your screenwriting mentor who’s really going to be there to aid in specializing your story.
Tim Atkinson: We have some amazing amazing writers working with our program we have
00:01:15.820 writers like Paul Guay who wrote Liar Liar, we have Ron Osborn who wrote for West Wing, wrote the screenplay for Meet Joe Black.
Brian Kraft: And while they’re doing that that student is also directing three films. Three films that they want to make.
Tim Atkinson: Each film is a little bit more complex than the one before it.
Alex Reyme: You’re directing your own film aided with the mentor who has experience directing who can really guide you in bringing your specific vision to life.
Jay Ryall: This is the experience that most professionals that are hiring are really looking for.
Xander Tennent: There’s a combination on both look learning and actual hands-on experience.
Bayou Bennett: We do have teach from a book it’s one of the best books that’s out there in terms of filmmaking.
Daniel Lir: We call it the Bible.
Bayou Bennett: Yeah the Bible.
Germar Townsend: When someone teaches you aboutcamera operation, shutter speeds and that sort of thing you actually operating a camera.
Daniel Lir: You can actually learn from people who are already successful at doing it and care and want to you know pass that knowledge on to you.
In celebrating our 40 years in business, we’d like to acknowledge and thank those who make up our
MUSIC INDUSTRY NETWORK
This includes our
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
who have provided scholarships, know-how, industry connections and jobs for our students and graduates.
This includes our
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
who have provided scholarships, know-how, industry connections and jobs for our students and graduates.
And we’ve benefited from the advice and guidance of our
BOARD OF ADVISORS who constantly keep us on our toes and inspire us to always do more. Among these distinguished colleagues are:
But most of all, we take great pride and pleasure in working with some of the film industry’s greatest producers, directors and screenwriters who serve as
MENTORS to our student apprentices. We experience immense satisfaction in seeing the passion and creativity our students bring that is shaping tomorrow’s music. Regardless of your film genre of choice (Horror, Drama, Action, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Science Fiction…) we have a mentor to suit. With over 115 mentors in our network, we have top professionals in virtually every city and town in the country like:
Dream Team Directors
Los Angeles, CA
Producers, Directors, Writers
Time Is Eternal, Tombstone
Pillow, Destination Angels,
Hope for the World, Wasted
Alphabet City Films
New York, NY
Producer, Director, Writer
The Trouble, The Korean Girl,
Bul*$h!t Walks, The People
Watchers, Urban Wolf, Makina
Wild Horse Productions
Santa Monica, CA
Producer, Director, Writer
Penny Dreadful, Jeepers
Creepers 3, Devil in the Flesh
1 and 2, Out for Blood, Ugly Benny
Guerilla Wanderers Films
San Francisco, CA
Producer, Director, Writer
Doucheaholics, Boxed Up,
Suparhearo, Cutting Seams,
Officer Down, Tom Rises
You can see all of our mentors here, or to find a nearby mentor in your town or city go here.
Nothing resonates with us as much as seeing our STUDENTS achieve success in the music industry as these recent graduates have.
Made the transition from book author to screenwriter
Wrote screenplay for feature film, The Mummy Murders
Produced, Directed Wrote feature film Beyond Your Consciousness
Gets hired by Lifetime, ABC Studios and Homeland
The above represent just a small sample of our student and graduate successes in the music industry.
Together the relationships we have with our Strategic Partners, Industry Organizations, Board of Advisors, Mentors and Students comprise a NETWORK OF CONNECTIONS that are there to support our students on their path to success. It’s these CONNECTIONS that are the lifeblood of the industry.
All of this has been made possible by the forty years we’ve been providing the mentor/apprentice method of education (students learn individually from music industry pros meaning there’s two instructors for every student) which has enabled us to create an incredible MUSIC INDUSTRY NETWORK for our students to plug into.
To commemorate our 40th anniversary, we’re adding
two exceptional courses: The Ultimate Filmmaking Course and The Ultimate Screenwriting Course.
These affordable entry level mentor/apprentice courses are geared for the aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter.
Learn directly from industry pros in our new mentor course designed for aspiring screenwriters.
It is with deep gratitude we give thanks to all who have supported us over the last 40 years–we humbly say we couldn’t have done it without you. Many of the film industry pros in our network were kind enough to congratulate us on our accomplishments over the last 40 years, and for this we thank you as well…
I’ve enjoy working with students from RRFC for maybe a decade at this point. Many of them have become colleagues, collaborators, and friends over the years. I’m very proud when I’m able to hire one of them, and also when I hear they are having success on other projects including Bones and All, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, White Noise among others.
Film Connection provides an unmatched opportunity to mentor aspiring filmmakers in a real-world setting. Watching my mentees develop their confidence and creativity reminds me why I fell in love with this art form in the first place.
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