International Film Institute of New York

My daughter who is a high school senior attended the IFI summer program and she was thrilled to tell me so many positive things about her experience. She said there were young filmmakers at different levels of experience, and everyone was supported in a collaborative environment that encouraged sharing of ideas freely and working together on teams. She was able to work on many film sets -- not only for her own film -- giving opportunities to work across all aspects of filmmaking. It helped her figure out what aspects of filmmaking are her strongest skills and passion. Misael is a wonderful leader and mentor, who really encouraged and inspired by daughter.

She said the dorms were a great way to get to know a wonderful group of creative people. The 5 weeks flew by and she said it was exactly the right amount of time to be able to create really meaningful projects and learn deeply about filmmaking. I can’t say enough about how this wonderful program supported my daughter's path in film, gave her access to experienced teachers, and pushed her to be her best while having lots of fun.

I am the father of a senior in high school who attended last summer's five week program. From start to finish, it was an amazing experience for my son. Over that period, he learned all of the disciplines, and in the first week came up with an idea and wrote a draft for his short film. At the end of the program, he had written, produced, and directed his own 7 minute film, and because he had learned all areas of filmmaking, he was a key contributor on the other students' films. And besides learning how to make a movie, it helped him acquire other skills, including how to be a great team player as well as honing his leadership skills. He had a lot of fun, but make no mistake, there was a lot of hard work and challenges along the way. Misael, the head of the program, is an amazing leader, coach, and mentor, and provided enormous support and guidance to all the students, and his team is exceptional as well. As much as I loved my son's film, it was the passion he showed and the confidence he gained that made the experience so special. I give this program my highest recommendation!

One of the best experiences with incredible teachers and people. I learned much more than I expected, the program is very complete. When I finished I felt the confidence to continue building my path in film.

I fully recommend it