The Student Survival Guide

Welcome to The Sidney Poitier New American Film School! We are so glad you’re here, and we are looking forward to teaching you the fundamentals and principles of storytelling. It’s an exciting time here at The Poitier School. We are located in three cities in two states. Along with our main campus in Tempe, Arizona State University has restored the glorious Herald Examiner Building in Downtown Los Angeles. This summer, we opened our brand new 118,000 square foot state-of-the-art production facility — the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center — in downtown Mesa.

As one of the five schools in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, we are looking to build interdisciplinary courses and degrees. We want to assist our students in developing an even broader understanding of the arts and design, and how they relate to storytelling in all of its forms, on all of its platforms.

We recognize and value creativity. That’s why we are creating the most inclusive, affordable and impactful film program for the next generation of cinematic storytellers. The Sidney Poitier New American Film School educates and advises students in the literatures, theories, histories and practices of contemporary filmmaking.

We will extend beyond our borders by our teaching, creative activity and professional services. This will enrich the cultural life of the University, the community, the state and the region. We will move the art of film production into the future by building on its diverse histories and cultural contexts.

Our students will focus on purpose, passion and perspective in all their communication efforts, whether that be film, AR/VR/XR, shortform video production or any other type of experiential media.

We at The Sidney Poitier New American Film School foster spaces that help empower our students so they can feel confident enough to tell their stories.

We will educate students on the journey a story takes from its inception through to the audience, and on all the varied platforms of distribution that we have today. Our goal is to ensure that our students are educated, energized and prepared for their chosen futures.

We look forward to seeing you.

—Cheryl Boone Isaacs

About Cheryl Boone Isaacs

Cheryl Boone Isaacs is the newly appointed Founding Director of Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, where she leads from the California Center as well as from Tempe and Mesa. She is a past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who, during her 24 years as a board member, held every officer position and served as President of the Academy Foundation.

A message from Cheryl Boone Isaacs

Founding Director of The Sidney Poitier New American Film School

As President and CEO of CBI Enterprises, Inc. Boone Isaacs has consulted for companies such as MTV Films, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate and Sony Entertainment. She previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema and was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures.

Poitier Legacy

The Sidney Poitier New American Film School Mission

The Sidney Poitier New American Film School educates students in the literature, theories, histories and practices of contemporary filmmaking. Our teaching, research, creative activity and professional service enrich the cultural life of the University, the community, the state and the region, extending beyond our borders; and move the art of film production into the future by building on its diverse histories and cultural contexts.

The Sidney Poitier Legacy

Actor, film director, civil rights activist, author, ambassador, father—Sir Sidney Poitier was a groundbreaking international film icon whose life, both onscreen and off, stood as an example of strength, passion, depth and integrity. The youngest of seven children, Sidney Poitier was born in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 20, 1927, and grew up on Cat Island, in the Bahamas. When he was 15, he was sent to live with his brother’s family in Miami; at 16 he moved to New York, where he held a string of jobs before lying about his age in order to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the Army, he worked as a dishwasher, until a successful audition with the American Negro Theatre launched him on his way as an actor, first on stage and then on screen.

Over the course of his long and varied career, Poitier starred in more than 40 films, directed nine, and wrote four. His many memorable roles as an actor include “The Defiant Ones,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “A Patch of Blue,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “To Sir, With Love” and “Sneakers.” For his outstanding performance in “Lilies of the Field,” a 1963 film set and shot in Arizona, Poitier became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among many other accolades, Poitier has been honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award, the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honors Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Grammy Award for best-spoken word album, and an honorary Academy Award.

Today, we honor the legacy of Sidney Poitier by striving to expand the representation in filmmaking and encourage new explorations of the power of the moving image to build cultures of belonging and a greater understanding of our world. The Poitier legacy is a substantial one that the school uses as a north star for all our practices. This north star tells a story of perseverance and long-suffering through many obstacles that would then be broken down for a new story to be told. The demonstration of this legacy serves as a tool for preparing our students to share their voices and experiences, knowing that for our democracy to thrive, our shared culture and expression must represent the changing demographics and identities of our nation.

One School, Two States, Three Cities

Dixie Gammage Hall Tempe, Arizona

At ASU’s campus in Tempe, Arizona, students have access to film production equipment and 24/7 computer labs. Production, research and rehearsal facilities include the Nelson Fine Arts Center, Dreamscape studios at the Creativity Commons, Music West, Dixie Gammage Hall and Stauffer Communications buildings.

The Media and Immersive eXperience Center Mesa, Arizona

The world-class Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona, is home to the production and post-production activities of The Sidney Poitier New American Film School. The 118,000-gross-square-foot facility features state-of-the-art sound stages, editing suites, screening theaters, public exhibition space and more. The facility will serve film majors as well as host a transdisciplinary collection of ASU master’s degrees, all of which will engage film students looking to embrace new technologies. The MIX Center is part of the ASU at Mesa City Center complex, a collaboration between ASU and Mesa. The complex also includes The Studios at Mesa City Center and a three-acre Plaza that provides a public park with an event lawn, splash pad and shade structures. Film students will have opportunities to hone their craft while working and connecting with media start-ups, schools and community groups in this dynamic and growing downtown.

The ASU California Centers Los Angeles, California

The Sidney Poitier New American Film School has a presence in downtown Los Angeles at the ASU California Center, located in the newly renovated historical Herald Examiner Building. Here, film students can accelerate their careers, connect with alumni and industry professionals, spend a semester completing coursework toward their degree and more. The ASU California Center is also home to a graduate degree focused on narrative and emerging media, a joint MA program between the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the film school. The Sidney Poitier New American Film School also offers its BA in film with a concentration in filmmaking practices to California transfer students at the ASU California Center.

Programs

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Media Production

A Bachelor in Fine Arts in film and media production provides creative experiences and pre-professional training to students with a focus on ethical practices, cutting-edge technical skills and interdisciplinary collaboration. Students are equipped to master digital technologies and create stories that reflect their unique vision and voice.

Beginning with foundational courses that situate the film and media artist as an active citizen-storyteller with a responsibility to their community, students work through a series of structured milestones and projects that culminate in the presentation of a professional digital portfolio.

The curriculum also includes interdisciplinary requirements and elective options from across ASU to ensure that students experience connections between the arts, cultures and the creative process. As of fall 2022, upper-division production courses are housed in a new, state-of-the-art facility in downtown Mesa, Arizona. Students also benefit from the Californiabased Semester in L.A. program, annual job and internship fairs, professional intensives, and events located at the Herald Examiner Building in downtown Los Angeles.

Graduates are prepared for success in the growing media industry, to pursue a graduate degree, or to pioneer new careers that will require advanced media production skills, a professional work ethic and a strong creative voice. 2022 - 2023 Major Map Film and Media Production, BFA

Bachelor of Arts in Film (Filmmaking Practices)

Students who pursue the BA in film with a concentration in filmmaking practices learn foundational production skills; entertainment and media ethics; feature, short and episodic screenwriting; and general film and media industry history and practices.

Course offerings focus on key professional skills such as screenwriting for feature films, television and new media; and producing practices, including on-set production and production management, business and legal matters, professional and technical writing, and production for feature films, television and internet content.

Production experience is regularly available through lower-division courses that provide creative coursework options, the upper-division course FMP 300, and credited opportunities to work on projects produced by students and faculty at The Sidney Poitier New American Film School. All students complete a year-long senior project, initiated and developed by the students and supported through dedicated faculty mentorship. There is also a unique Semester in L.A. program available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, as well as industry intensives and internship opportunities.

The Los Angeles location for the BA in film with a concentration in filmmaking practices is accepting transfer students with an associate degree in film or media production from Arizona and California community colleges. 2022 - 2023 Major Map Film (Filmmaking Practices), BA

BA or BFA: What is the difference?

In short, the Bachelor of Arts in film with a concentration in filmmaking practices allows students more flexibility to explore the art of film and storytelling. This degree is great for students who would like to double major, gain an overview of filmmaking as a practice, explore various interests, or find ways to communicate issues in other disciplines through filmmaking.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts provides students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with film and media production. This degree is great for students who are interested in carving out a specific focus area in production and receiving in-depth instruction and training focused on that area.

Minor in Film and Media Production

Students pursuing the film and media production minor study the basic production processes of film while learning about the history and practices of the film and media industry as well as the cultural value of cinema, television and digital media.

2022

- 2023 Minor Map Film and Media Production

Master of Arts in Narrative and Emerging Media

In the MA program in narrative and emerging media, students learn how to tell stories that aren’t just watched or read — they’re experienced. In under one year, students learn innovative storytelling techniques, explore the emerging media marketplace, connect with the field’s top professionals and develop critical media project management skills.

Through hands-on learning, students explore the entire landscape of emerging immersive media techniques including augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, 360 video, animated graphics, short-form digital video and documentary production to tell creative fictional stories or nonfiction journalistic work. Students capture and create content for workflow in multiple industries, and they learn to lead teams of producers, engineers, writers and artists across different technologies. They build business acumen too; central to the program is enhanced insight on research, development, and the finance and business models driving the future of emerging media.

Delivered exclusively at the ASU California Center in downtown L.A., the program immerses students in a state-of-theart emerging media hub. The building includes a green screen studio that allows for virtual reality productions and live broadcasts and a second Planar LCD studio, which allows for immersive film and video shoots. Students learn and work in these spaces to create compelling visual storytelling for client productions and their own passion projects.

Students engage in courses that anchor content creation and project management with communication theory and current case studies, along the way building a cohesive portfolio of professional work aligned with industry standards. Students also network and get critiques from industry professionals whose work may inspire their own. Students who complete the program are well-prepared to leap into creation, production and project management roles across the media industry, or pursue independent work.

This is a joint program offered by The Sidney Poitier New American Film School and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Note: This program is not eligible for federal financial aid in Los Angeles, but generous scholarship assistance is available. Plan of Study, MA in Narrative and Emerging Media

Meet Your Professors

Greg Bernstein Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Max Bernstein

Coodinator + Clinical Assistant Professor

Clitck here to learn more about me

Carla Bishop Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Nita Blum Clinical Asst Professor + SAFE Set Coordinator

Click here to learn more about me

Janaki Cedanna Clinical Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Adam Collis Professor of Practice

Click here to learn more about me

Joseph Fortunato Teaching Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Gene Ganssle

Associate Teaching Professor

Click here to learn more about me

C.A. Griffith

Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Reina Higashitani Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Cristina Ibarra

Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Philip Klucsarits

Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Chris Lamont Clinical Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Mary Matheson Professor of Practice

Click here to learn more about me

Brian McAuley Clinical Assistant Professor

Rodrigo Meirelles

Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Peter Murrieta

Deputy Director + Professor of Practice

Click here to learn more about me

Eliciana Nascimento Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Nicholas Pilarski

Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Luiza Parvu Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Meet Your Professors

Nonny de la Pena

Program Director + Professor of Practice

Click here to learn more about me

Alex Rivera Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Jason Davids Scott Associate Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Sharon Teo-Gooding Professor + Associate Director

Andres Torres

Program Director + Professor of Practice

Click here to learn more about me

Horacio Velasquez Melo Clinical Assistant Professor

Click here to learn more about me

Ryat Yezbick

Learning Resources Specialist

Click here to learn more about me

Patrick Roddy Faculty Associate

Click here to learn more about me

Adriane Raff Corwin

Faculty Associate

Click here to learn more about me

Chris Chandler

Faculty Associate

Click here to learn more about me

Mark Bowers Faculty Associate

Greg Elder Faculty Associate

Charles Fink Faculty Associate

Michael Greenwald Faculty Associate

Bob Marquis Faculty Associate

Toma Peiu Faculty Associate

Rick Perez Faculty Associate

Rebecca Semik Faculty Associate

Meet Your Staff

Taylor Blackmore Communications Program Coordinator

Click here to learn more about me

Barry Bogovich Coordinator, Special Events

Click here to learn more about me

April Corrales Administrative Specialist

Click here to learn more about me

Annie Delamatta

Curriculum Coordinator Sr

Click here to learn more about me

Melissa Dickman Manager

Click here to learn more about me

Ben Gross Specialist, CA

Click here to learn more about me

Paisley Hearney

Student Recruitment Coordinator

Click here to learn more about me

Nathan Jean

Curriculum Coordinator

Click here to learn more about me

Clyde Jose

Business Ops Specialist Sr

Click here to learn more about me

Melissa Matteson Manager

Click here to learn more about me

Jasmine Nungaray

Business Operations Specialist

Click here to learn more about me

Jet Olano

Learning Technology Specialist

Click here to learn more about me

Chalysse Standifird

Executive Administrative Support Specialist

Click here to learn more about me

Hilary van der Stroom

Business Operations Manager

Click here to learn more about me

Leslie Elias-Volz

Assistant to Director

Click here to learn more about me

As a student in The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, you have the opportunity to engage with a thriving arts community consisting of faculty, staff and peers who share a passion for media making. In addition to our degree programs, there are spaces for you to explore through student clubs, professional development workshops, film screenings and so much more.

ASU Student Success Center

For first-year students looking for ways to engage with campus communities and navigate the university, there is access to the Student Success Center. Through this center, you have the opportunity to receive all of the tools necessary for success at the university, this includes one on one mentorship with peer coaches on campus. Learn about Student Life at ASU

The Office of Student Success in Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts facilitates the academic achievement and creative development of students while assisting in the navigation and attainment of their goals. For students in The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, you have film school advisors available to help support you along this journey.

Advising

The Herberger Institute Advising office is located in the Design South building (CDS) room 101, which is located near the SW corner of Forest and University. Appointments are recommended and can be scheduled in advance or students may utilize our walk-in hours.

Contact an Advisor

Creative Career Services

The support for our students seeks to expand beyond their tenure within our school. The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and ASU Career and Professional Development Services have collaborated to help you prepare for a career after college. In this center, students have access to personalized career advising, connections with employers in their field, and assistance with resumes, cover letters and other application mateirals. Request a career advising appointment

Student Clubs and Organizations

• ASU Film Alliance

• Associate of Filmmakers at ASU

• Association for International Media

• Entertainment Business Association

• Hollywood Invades Tempe Crew

• Fade-In

• Maroon and Gold Entertainment

• Rough Cut

• Womxn in Film @ ASU

Explore the scholarship opportunities in The Sidney Poitier New American Film School

Looking for Important Dates? Financial Aid Calendar

Contact ASU Financial Aid and Scholarship Services

Current on-campus students

855-278-5080 (toll free)

Current or incoming ASU Online students

855-278-5080 (toll free).

Incoming First Year Students – on-campus and transfer, contact your admission representative.

Locations

Tempe, Student Services Building, 2nd Floor, Room 206

Office Hours for All Locations

Monday

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Tuesday - Friday

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

No appointment necessary.

Resources

ASU Resources

First Generation Resources Guide

Individuals with Disabilities: ASU’s Responsibilities & Resources

Student Advocacy and Assistance

Resources for Students with Families

Career Services

Student Success Center

Writing Centers

Academic Support

Parking and Transit Services

Semester in LA

Off-Campus Housing Services

University Housing Services

ASU Counseling Services

ASU Health Services

Live Well at ASU

ASU Campus Safety

Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services

International Students and Scholars Center

Resources for LGBTQIA+ Sun Devils

University Technology Office

Cultural Coalitions

Library

Film; this is more focused on film studies and less on production.

Motion Picture: Research topics

Rare Books and Manuscripts: Playbills, film press kits, and our Star Wars collection

Makerspace | ASU Library

ASU Library 101: This is a great starting point for understanding how to use the library!

FACEBOOK ASUFilmSchool

TWITTER asu__filmschool

 asufilmschool

YOUTUBE ASUFILMSCHOOL

LINKEDIN the-sidney-poitier-new-american-film-school

We’re going to have to decide for ourselves what we are and what we’re not. Create our own image of ourselves. And nurture it and feed it till it can stand on its own.”

—Sidney Poitier “