Film and Moving Image Studies (BFA)

Every day, our culture is flooded with new moving images. Film and Moving Image Studies teaches you how to read visual culture and speak the dominant creative language of the last century. Explore the history of cinema in its global breadth — from documentary to experimental and narrative feature films — and the future of cinema in its many emergent forms.

Studying film as fine art, pop culture and commercial industry trains you to think critically about films and their cultural context. You’ll develop a deep understanding of film’s aesthetics and relation to society. You’ll write film reviews, analyze film sequences, and become a cultural critic. 

A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree takes a minimum of three or four years (90 – 120 credits) of full-time study, depending on your academic background.

Program options

• Specialization in Film and Moving Image Studies* (66 credits)
• Major in Film and Moving Image Studies (48 credits)
• Minor in Film and Moving Image Studies (24 credits)

*Admission is to the major. Students in the major may apply for a transfer to the specialization after completing specific first-year courses.

The breadth and depth of faculty expertise in Concordia's Film and Moving Image Studies programs is really what make our courses so exciting. Our faculty members have expertise in many areas:

• Sexuality studies, feminism and female filmmakers, Queer Cinema
• Political documentary, postcolonial theory, the history of film studies
• Cinephilia, underground filmmaking, melodrama, semiotics, film theory
• Experimental ethnography, Soviet Cinema, Japanese Anime

Please note that film production courses are only available to students in the Specialization in Film and Moving Image Studies program.

For a list of required courses, please download the Program Guide according to year of entry.

Conferences, lectures & symposia
In addition to the variety of special lectures, conferences and symposiums organized by Concordia's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (MHSoC), our cinema faculty maintain several research centres, among them, Concordia's Documentary Centre, the Advanced Research Team on History and Epistemology of Moving Image Study (ARTHEMIS), and the Sense Lab. 

International study opportunities
Concordia University offers students the opportunity to take part in an International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) that will count for credit towards their Concordia degree, while paying the same tuition fees they do at home and possibly receiving funding. International study opportunities bring cultural diversity and enrichment through immersion in the programs of study at Concordia’s partner institutions.

Professional internships
The MHSoC has established collaboration with all of the major film festivals in Montreal, through which many students find volunteer and internship opportunities each year. Moreover, students may opt to apply up to six credits from their degree towards an internship in film-related institutions, where they can pursue work in film archiving, research, editing publications or writing film criticism. Consult the Undergraduate Calendar or Graduate Calendar for details about program specific requirements and prerequisites.

Independent studies
Students may explore specific areas of film through independent study. Consult the Undergraduate Calendar or Graduate Calendar for details about program specific requirements and prerequisites.  

You’ll graduate with superior communication skills, plus the knowledge and discipline to think critically about culture and society. Our alumni work in cultural industries including:

• Film conservation
• Film production
• Museums and galleries
• Archives and libraries

Many of our students go on to graduate programs in moving image studies.