FIlm School-The Series: A show that ran on IFC in the early 2000s about NYU students working on their shorts

[andy001]

Here is the first episode, and the following on 9 of the first and only season are all there as well.

Hey all!
I heard about this awesome series a while ago, it ran in the early 2000s on IFC when they were super indie and I was pleased to find out every episode of it's one and only season is now on YouTube for free. I watched the whole season in one day, it was so good! The series is a fascinating look at three graduate film students at NYU around 2003 all directing and working on their short films from beginning to end. The three directors that the series documents didn't do too much after they left film school (one of them actually never made another film again after the show, but if you watch the series you can see why making films just wasn't for him). Despite this, you might recognize a very familiar face in the series too; Cary Fukunaga, who is the now widely acclaimed director of True Detective, Beasts of No Nation, Maniac, and the new 007 film among others. He was a graduate film student at the time and he is the DP for one of the main subjects, Alrick Brown, and his short film "The Adventures of Super-" (I can't say the actual title for various reasons) but just watch and see. It is fascinating to see how Fukunaga operated as a young filmmaker and how he worked on set as a DP in his early days. The film is such an eye opening look at the filmmaking process and I'm sure many of us here can relate to the hectic nature of set life portrayed on screen. Also a great precursor for all of us going into a graduate film program, and ESPECIALLY those going to NYU's Kanbar Institute in the fall. Enjoy!! Watch then comment and discuss below, I'd love to hear what you guys think of the show!

 

[Chris W]

Watched the first episode. Will watch more. A little dated but interesting. The animations are whacked.

I cracked up at the lamp iMac. I remember those. Very interesting look into film school though although so far it's very much into the people themselves and not too much what it's like at the school although there's a little of that.

 

[andy001]

Watched the first episode. Will watch more. A little dated but interesting. The animations are whacked.

I cracked up at the lamp iMac. I remember those. Very interesting look into film school though although so far it's very much into the people themselves and not too much what it's like at the school although there's a little of that.

Awesome! It gets better for sure. Definitely dated haha, reminds of those old MTV docuseries like True Life. But this one gets very entertaining because we see the crazines of what it takes to make a short film (especially back then when you had to use and pay for film) and had little to no access to many different tools we use nowadays. The first episode is just the introductions of the characters, but it goes on to show the lives of the students as they try to make their film deadlines and it just gets great. My favorite person by far is Vincenzo, who seriously has some of the most hilarious and crazy portions of the show. His segments are the best. Also as the series progresses, it's fascinating to see how Fukunaga works with Alrick on his film and how he operates as a student on set. Keep watching and let me know what you think!