The Film Institute at CCNY, a Documentary to Tell its Tale

By Jaquelin Bautista

The following piece appeared in the September 2019 edition of The Campus.

Quite often we find ourselves surroundedby production crews, production sets, and actors for films or shows that onecan find on major viewing platforms, such as Netflix. However, it's not everyday that The City College of New York’s (CCNY) very own professors and studentsuse our campus as their very own set. 

Dave Davidson, one of CCNY’s professorsand founding director of the MFA Program in Film, is an independent filmmakerwho has directed over twenty award-winning documentaries, received an EmmyAward and the American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Grant. This summer,Davidson screened his latest documentary “Cinema and Sanctuary,” which detailsthe twenty-five-year history of The Institute of Film Techniques at CityCollege.

In the hopes of having a training centerto make films for the war effort, The Film Institute was founded in 1941 byCCNY alumni, Irving Jacoby, as the first documentary film school in the UnitedStates. After a few months, Jacoby moved to the U.S Office of War Information,thus turning over the directorship to Hans Richter. Born in Germany, Richer wasforced out of Europe in 1940 by the Nazis. Richer had a massive influence onAmerican Filmmakers, most importantly he opened the eyes of working-classstudents to the works of the documentary, experimental, and European films.

Professor Davidson spoke toThe Campus about the production process of “Cinema and Sanctuary” as well assome insight on the film industry, “It’s important that ‘Cinema and Sanctuary’adds this important and little-known thread in the history of film and filmeducation to the larger conversation.

Everyone is used to hearing the same namesrepeated over and over again when talking about film schools. It’s gratifyingto add that the first documentary film school was not formed in Hollywood or atan elite private school. It was formed right here at this great public college.Equally important, funding for public education is being cut to the bone in2019, and that includes outreach. The world needs to know that City College hasthriving graduate and undergraduate programs to train filmmakers fromunderserved communities to tell their stories at an accessible, affordableinstitution.”

Today, the Film Institute at CCNY hasseen amazing directors pass through its doors including cinematographer NestorAlmendro and Woody Allen. Throughout the years CCNY has also cumulated sevenStudent Oscars and three Student Emmy awards. Additionally, CNNY has also hadthree Sundance Film selections and a Cannes Film Festival selection.

Student Ana Naumovska (Senior), notes theuniqueness of the Film Program at CCNY, “Unlike many film programs across thecountry, CCNYs program differs in almost every aspect. Starting with resourcesand equipment, and even in the students that get accepted. The students in theprogram don't come from wealthy backgrounds, and the program is underfunded.Despite these limitations, we’re encouraged to focus more on the aspects ofbeing effective visual storytellers, rather than focusing on the productionvalue.” Naumovska even noted that Professor Davidson was the reason sheswitched from a fiction focus to a documentary focus.

In an interview with CUNY TV, ProfessorDavidson spoke about the Film Institute at CCNY and how, in its origins, becamea “magnet for dropouts, from physicists to engineers.” In other words, throughthe efforts of Richer, students became aware of the power film can have on sharingand capturing a story or message. Suddenly, there was a new career option, onein which students could explore their creativity and storytelling. StudentKristian Orozco (Senior), started in “Cinema and Sanctuary.” It was his firsttime on a set and recalled that “it was a great and unique experience, I haveeven considered becoming an extra on other shows”.

It is clear that the Film Institute atCCNY not only has deep roots in the history of the film industry but wecontinue to see talent come out of such a unique program. Through the effortsof people like Hans Richer and Professor David Davidson, students continue tobe impacted to pursue a career in film and spread the CCNY Film Institute legacy.