Champlain Hosts Urban Indie Filmmaking in Montreal

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Urban Indie Filmmaking in Montreal

BURLINGTON, VT (03/15/2013)(readMedia)-- During the summer of 2013, students 18 years and older from any U.S. institution of higher education will have the opportunity to study screenwriting, cinematography, filming and post-production editing at Champlain College's Montreal campus from May 27 to August 2. Champlain professor and Hollywood director, Rob Schmidt Barracano will direct this intensive 10-week program providing hands-on projects with the end result of each individual having completed an original short film.

Students will receive 12 college credits and gain a truly unique, enriching, and entertaining summer experience. Montreal is a dynamic cultural and media center, home to the production of many Hollywood films and cultural festivals and events, including the Montreal World Film Festival in August. There are few cities in the world offering this much access to film and creative culture. "We created the Urban Indie Film program to be an opportunity for students of all levels to discover and develop their filmmaking skills while they spend a summer in one of the most beautiful cities in the world," said Schmidt Barracano. "This program will be of particular interest to English majors or students in art programs aside from and including film theory, as well as any interested student that would like to explore filmmaking. The program is open to life learners and they are also encouraged to apply."

Participants are required to live in Champlain College's downtown Montreal campus housing, located on Sherbrooke Street (near Rue Berri), for the course of the summer program. All state-of-the-art shooting equipment will be provided – including Canon 7D and Panasonic AF-100 cameras. A laptop capable of editing video is suggested but not required.

Below is the financial breakdown for the program:

  • Tuition: $6,900 (USD)
  • Housing: $1,750 (estimated cost)
  • Facilities Fee: $780

The deadline to apply is April 1, 2013. The program will accept students based on their application materials and letters of reference regardless of their level of experience. Schmidt Barracano and his team are just as interested in introducing promising new filmmakers as they also work with advanced students. Apply soon; space is limited – there are only 20 seats available for the summer program.

About the Program Director

Rob Schmidt Barracano, a professor at Champlain College, has taught in NYU's graduate film program in Singapore, the New School in New York, and at SUNY Purchase. He studied at the American Film Institute and is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America. His films include Wrong Turn, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, and The Alphabet Killer, which was picked up for international distribution by New Films International. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox. He directed a Masters of Horror episode called "Right to Die" as well. "I grew up surrounded by strange people and things in a farm town outside of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. These experiences came to be inspirations for my films," he stated.

For more information on the program, the director, how credits transfer, or to apply, please visit champlain.edu/montrealfilm or contact professor Rob Schmidt Barracano at rbarracano@champlain.edu or at 802.383.6685.

About Champlain College Since 1878, Champlain College has provided career-focused education to students from its hilltop campus in Burlington, Vt. Champlain's distinctive educational approach embodies the notion that true learning only occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain offers traditional undergraduate and online undergraduate courses, along with online certificate and degree programs and eight master's degree programs. Champlain offers study abroad programs at its campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain College will be included in the Princeton Review's "best colleges" guidebook, "The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition." Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" and was ranked in the top tier of 2013 Regional Colleges in the North. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu