Overview
The CSSSA Film Program embraces an auteur-driven philosophy, equipping students with the tools to articulate their unique cinematic voice. Participants will delve into a carefully curated selection of auteur films and benefit from masterclasses led by renowned industry professionals. This intensive program is designed for ambitious, self-motivated students eager to push creative boundaries while honing their critical and artistic perspectives.
Modeled after a collegiate BFA course, the curriculum encompasses the entire spectrum of cinema, from experimental works to the history of pre-cinema. Students gain hands-on experience across all major filmmaking disciplines, including production, directing, screenwriting, cinematography, sound, and editing, guided by an accomplished faculty. They’ll learn to pitch their projects and collaborate on multiple film projects. Collaboration is a cornerstone of the program, offering students a profound understanding of the team-oriented nature of filmmaking.
CSSSA Film students create compelling thesis films that are selected for internationally renowned film festivals. Watch Junebug, selected for the SFFILM International Film Festival in the Youth category. Watch The Party’s In Here, selected for the All-American High School Film Festival, Lift-off Global Network, Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, MegggaXP’s Blood Bash (nominated for Best in Show), and IndieYouth Shorts Festival. Are We Distinct? was selected for the Newport Beach Film Fest. By the end of the program, students will have developed a strong portfolio to support their applications to esteemed film schools. Explore the CSSSA 2025 students’ film reel.
Masterclasses provide students with invaluable exposure to industry professionals. Past guests include Alfonso Cuarón, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ana de la Reguera, and Daniel Scheinert. Check out the Cinematography Masterclass with Pawel Pogorzelski, in partnership with ARRI. Find out more.
Students currently enrolled in grades 8 through 12 are eligible to apply. (CSSSA is open to students entering grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 next fall 2026. CSSSA is also open to students who are graduating from high school in the spring of 2026. You can still do the program the summer after graduation.)
Film Curriculum
NARRATIVE FILMMAKING
An engaging introduction to storytelling through film, where students craft short fiction pieces inspired by personal experiences. They will delve into the impact of camera work, color, and performance on the narrative. Each student will create two short fiction films.
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
This course examines innovative approaches to non-fiction storytelling, emphasizing how personal, political, and regional issues are conveyed through film. Students will develop individual documentary projects while exploring how cinematography, sound, and editing shape the viewer’s perception of truth.
EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKING
An exploration of avant-garde and surrealist cinema, inspiring students to break away from conventional media and express their unique voices through innovative and experimental techniques.
CINEMA THEORY
Students explore key films from various genres and movements, discussing filmmaking’s role in giving voice to the voiceless.
FIELD TRIPS
The program includes exclusive field trips, such as tours of Sony Pictures Studio, screenings with renowned filmmakers at the American Cinematheque, visits to prop houses, live film shoots, and public screenings of student work in Los Angeles.
masterclasses
Masterclasses give students direct access to some of the most accomplished and influential film professionals, offering deep insight into their creative process, careers, and the art of filmmaking. Our past guests include: Alfonso Cuarón, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ernest Dickerson, Daniel Schiener, Christian Petzold, Ana de la Reguera, Paolo Moretti, Peter Spears, Leila George, Edward Zwick, Eric Heisser, Debra Levine, Jaco van Dormael, Max Arju, and Carlo Cresto-Dina.
**Please note, masterclass guests change from year to year depending on schedules and availability.
ALFONSO CUARÓN
A deep dive into the filmmaking techniques of the Oscar-winning director of Roma and Gravity.
Mathieu Kassovitz
Acclaimed French actor, director, and writer of La Haine shares his insights on filmmaking.
ANA DE LA REGUERA
An insightful discussion with the actress of Nacho Libre and Narcos on her diverse career in film and TV.
Leila George
A conversation about acting and filmmaking with the talented Australian actress best known for the television series, Animal Kingdom.
Eric Heisserer
A discussion with American filmmaker and Academy award-nominated screenwriter, best known for Arrival (2016) and Bird Box (2018).
PAWEL POGORZELSKI
Award-winning cinematographer of Hereditary and Midsommar shares his approach to visual storytelling.
Daniel Scheinert
Talented director and actor, best known for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and Swiss Army Man (2016) shares his approach to filmmaking.
Ernest Dickerson
American director, cinematographer and screenwriter, known for his collaborations with Spike Lee, discusses his work as a cinematographer.
Edward zwick
Writer, Academy award-winning producer, and Golden Globe-nominated director shares his experience on acclaimed films such as The Last Samurai and Traffic.
Program Instructors
PIETRO PINTO
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Pietro Pinto, MFA, is an award-winning Italian filmmaker. His thesis film, Adam, debuted at the Venice Festival, competing in Venice Critics’ Week, and his short film The Golden Gate earned Best Narrative and Best in Show at the CSU Media Arts Festival. Pinto teaches film directing at SFFS and UCLA and is the founder of an original masterclass series featuring top industry professionals in partnership with UCLA, CalArts, USC, the Berlinale, and the Locarno Film Festival.
SHUCHI DWIVEDI
SCREENWRITING
Shuchi is a writer and producer working between India and the U.S., using comedy to bridge cultural divides. A screenwriting graduate from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, her debut feature, Friends and Fascism, won the IFFLA Industry Day Pitch Competition and was shortlisted for the Cannes W Scripted Competition. The project was also selected for Cinev Projects Market and IFFLA Connect. Currently, Shuchi is developing her second feature, Baby Goes West, and producing a documentary exploring caste and education. Formerly a white-collar criminal lawyer, she now believes laughter is the antidote to fear and crafts stories that aim to build a braver world. Shuchi will serve as Assistant Chair and Faculty Coordinator for CSSSA.
DANIEL MIRAMONTES
CINEMATOGRAPHY & SOUND
Daniel Miramontes is a filmmaker, educator, and ASC Vision mentee based in Los Angeles. Raised in a blue-collar family, he holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Cinema and Fine Arts from San Francisco State University and earned his MFA in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. His work has been featured at the Jerusalem Film Festival, LA Shorts, GuadaLAjara Film Festival, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Korea International Short Film Festival, and the DeYoung Museum. His films — including Transition 4 and Son, Can’t You See I’m Burning? — explore themes of unconscious behavior, causality, and climate change through psychological and philosophical lenses. Daniel has participated in the Jerusalem Film Workshop and SUROP at Kansas State University, studying the intersection of art and technology.
VIVIANE D’AVILLA
DIRECTING
Viviane is a journalist, visual artist, and filmmaker whose work has been recognized at the Florence Biennale and in Venice, and exhibited in New York, Paris, and across Italy. Since 2018, she has focused on independent projects highlighting underrepresented voices. Her debut documentary, GOPI, about intersex activist Gopi Shankar, screened at Festival do Rio and the Los Angeles Film Festival, winning Best Film and Best Screenplay in Brazil and India. She co-directed and shot Call Me Ebony (2020), followed by ODU (2021), a documentary on spiritual and cultural ties between Brazil and Nigeria. In 2024, she released the fiction short PERDA and is now in post-production on a feature documentary co-produced with the U.S., filmed in India, the U.S., and Brazil.
E.J. YE
DIRECTING & EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA
Ej Ye was born and raised in China and is a 2025 Flaherty Fellow. His short documentary Room for Two was selected for the AmDocs Film Festival. He produced A Whale Who Drank a Fish Bowl, a narrative feature that screened at the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival and the Houston AAPI Film Festival. Ej is also an award-winning cinematographer, recognized at the Houston International Film Festival. His debut feature documentary was recently showcased at the CalArts Long Form Showcase at REDCAT.
CHRISTINE CHEN
EDITING
Christine lives quietly between frames, allowing characters to breathe and shaping chaos into cinematic destiny. Her editing credits include From Surma (Moscow International Film Festival) and Fowl Play, which screened at Edinburgh, Houston, Humboldt IFF, and more.
MARIE SOLIMENA
Marie is an Italian actress with a strong background in theatre. She made her television debut in Il Bello Delle Donne: Alcuni Anni Dopo and has trained at LAMDA in London and the New York Film Academy, graduating with Magna Cum Laude honors in Acting for Film. Her co-starring roles in The 4 Points and Silent Thunder were featured at the Newport Beach Film Festival and at Cannes’ Marché du Film in 2024.
LILLY LION
Lilly is a writer and director based in Los Angeles, originally from southern Oregon. A recent MFA Directing graduate from the American Film Institute Conservatory, she was a Women in Film Scholarship recipient. Her work has screened internationally, including at the Tallgrass Film Festival, HollyShorts, and Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival. Her debut short In This Neighborhood (2022) won Best PNW Short Film at the Tacoma Film Festival. Lilly’s work often focuses on themes of class, the male gaze, and how female identity and sexuality are shaped by social context.
KENZ BENMOSBAH
Kenz is an award-winning Tunisian-French director and producer with a penchant for stories about rebels and misfits. Kenz served as the French translator for the Academy Award®-nominated Tunisian film Four Daughters, and her directing work to date spans five languages. Before earning her MFA from the AFI Conservatory, Kenz worked as a production assistant at Lilies Films, producer of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
PALOMA PINTO
Paloma was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and raised in NYC. Now based in Los Angeles, she spent several years producing unscripted programs for HBO, Netflix and NBCUniversal. While working full-time in unscripted, she produced narrative projects including short films and a one-act play, which premiered atthe Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022. She is now a Producing Fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory, where she has produced seven short films over two years. During her second year, she interned in development at 271 Films and Felix Culpa. She is very excited to participate in the CSSSA Program and looks forward to meeting this Summer’s cohort.
EMMA SCULLY
Emma is a San Francisco–based filmmaker with a background in production design, arts administration, and education. Originally from London, she has worked across commercials, music videos, and independent short films, and served as Assistant Producer for acclaimed artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson. Emma previously worked at the San Francisco Film School as Online Learning Coordinator, where she helped launch a hybrid filmmaking program. She is passionate about collaborative storytelling and supporting the next generation of filmmakers. In her spare time, Emma channels her love of detail into crafting miniature books and stop-motion puppets.
