MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL FILMSCHOOL

Moscow International Film School was established in 1991 among the first innovation schools. Our educational institution is state, but it’s “chamber”, there is only about 100 pupils at the age of 12-17 years old. Alongside standard state certificate MIFS pupils get practical professional skills in the sphere of film direction, journalism, animation and photography, producer, cameraman and actor techniques. Film School graduators are part of a rating of the most promising actors of Russia, work at central TV channels, in film associations, theatres and also in business, education, different humanitarian spheres.

The basis of pedagogical and manager Film School staff consists of its graduates; young, creative, purposeful people (18-35 years old). Together with them such famous masters as cameraman Levan Paatashvilly, cartoon creator Yuri Norshtein, art critic Kirill Razlogov teach and give lectures and master classes.

In its education Film School puts an emphasis on authorship, initiative and civil activity. That is why the main form of education is social projects. In each project creation of a film, a play or other creative work is at the same time an investigation of dramatic problems of modern world and an attempt of direct help to the victims of these problems.

The project “You are not alone!” is devoted to joint creative work of MIFS pupils with inmates of orphanages and boarding houses. With the help of art we try to feel a certain gap which prevents orphans and the handicapped from feeling full value participants of life. In such a way we make cartoons with children deprived of ability to move (infantile cerebral paralysis) and in them they become authors and characters and begin to move in the screen. With blind children we work at post scoring of cartoons and plays. For orphans we solve a problem of their activity, a problem of changing their position of victims and suppliants. They play important roles in our plays, help themselves to handicapped children.
The project “Mysterious islands” is devoted to creative investigation of cultures of disappearing indigenous peoples. We make films together with children of Canadian and Mexican Indians; we do similar work in Altai and other regions of Russia.
The project “Freedom” is devoted to a live connection with tragic pages of history of the XX-th century, such as Holocaust and Stalin’s GULAG. The example of creative work can be a film “Roll - Call”. It’s a video dialogue in absentia between former political GULAG prisoners and contemporary under age prisoners of Russian colonies, - a dialogue about how to be able to stay alive, to keep spirituality and human dignity in prison.
The geography of Film School projects encompasses more than 20 regions of Russia and more than 15 countries of the world.

Besides basic secondary school subjects we teach History of Arts, History of Religion, Actor’s Skills, Psychology, Philosophy and Pedagogics. We also conduct open lecture sessions that unite uncoordinated knowledge on various subjects and open to each student personal, informal contact with the culture. Latest sessions were devoted to the issues of Faith, Super-abilities of people, Heroes of our time, Future of Russia, Flowers of the evil, War and peace. For the lectures we invite leading specialists in arts, science and philosophy.