Story Arts Centre Students Succeeding in the Film Industry

For Advanced Television and Film - Script to Screen program coordinator Steven Lucas, seeing his students succeed “feels like Christmas”.

The graduate certificate program, going into its fifth year, is designed to prepare students for careers in the film and television industry.

While it is challenging and intense, graduate Tannaz Keshavarz believed all the hard work and steep learning curve was worth it.

“I loved it and I thought it was exhilarating,” said Keshavarz.

The program has a focus on mentorship, hands-on technical training and creates workplace environment rather than a classroom. From day one, students begin to prepare their final projects: the production of a short film that takes place in the second semester. “The entire class becomes a film crew and we go at it the way you would go at it as if they were in an industry setting,” said Lucas. It’s the students who write the script, work the cameras, create sets, direct, produce and everything else in between. The students even get to act in the film.

It’s these qualities that set it apart from other college and university film programs. “The program really did live up to my expectations and more,” said Keshavarz. Keshavarz is now a freelance screenplay writer in Toronto with a few projects in the works. “I wrote a play that’s now in development and I’m story editing a script. This program gave me skills, confidence and networking opportunities, thanks to the top-notch instructors,”

Another student created short film project, Don’t Click, has been incredibly successful.

The horror film, which is now being developed into a feature film, has played at five film festivals in Canada and in Los Angeles.

Great story about @CentennialEDU Script-to-Screen grad G-Hey Kim's success with her short film "Don't Click" - "Film company sees big picture in East York film grad's short https://t.co/ceGYmNWpbQ via @TorontoObserver

— Barry Waite (@Toronto_PR_Guy) April 3, 2018

The creator G-Hey Kim, a Korean international student, couldn’t be happier about her fourth short film.

“I am so happy that my short film has been officially selected at so many festivals and won or been nominated for so many awards,” said Kim. I worked very hard at Centennial, but don’t think I could not have succeeded all by myself.  That’s why I feel I so lucky to have found this program.”

By Ellen Samek