San Francisco Film School

If you want to become a filmmaker-you can do it at the San Francisco Film School. The instructors there are all coming from a gig; going to a gig or presently at a gig. Here you will learn filmmaking-by making films-and graduate with a film reel of your work that you can bring to your next employer. For me it's been a wonderful life changing experience.

I have been working with Tracy Suddeth and she has been so helpful in helping me navigate this process. Truly a great employee and advisor. Cant wait to start class

Wish I could give the school a zero. I'm a veteran. I filled out an application in August and wasn't sure I was going to go due to timing issues. I received a call from the VP Alfretta Clark on Friday. I thought it was a follow up call from the school but it ended up being an harassment call. She was upset that I didn't call the school and let them know if I was coming or not. She was VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. She started calling me names and started to bring up the money I would get for attending the school. She kept throwing it up in my face. I think she was jealous. IF YOU'RE A VETERAN BEWARE! I think these people pray on the pay that they would receive from going there.

I asked for her superior's information on the phone and through email and she would not give it to me. I thought I might go to the school at a later date. I found out that I could of taken online classes so I might of went when I originally planned but she denied my application based on her emotions. Alfretta Clark is a horrible and entitled person. To call a stranger with that kind of attitude is inexcusable and deplorable. Her words were "You should be calling us! " like her and her school were better than me and all the veterans that attend. I never heard of the school before finding it through the VA.

She needs to be more careful with her words because you never know what a person is going through in life especially veterans who served this country to protected her and her school. Without us there would be no school. That level of respect needs to establish at San Francisco Film School before they receive any more money from the VA.

I'll be following up tomorrow. I will try and talk with the President and see if he's more level headed and respectful. It will be hard though. They stopped answering my calls after they disrespected me. I want reciprocity and an apology ASAP! I wont stop until I get it.

I will never forget the good times and the instructors that has made an impression in my filmmaking career.

If you ever get a chance, give this school a shot and take the experience for what it is and enjoy the knowledge and real life experience that some of the instructors will give out to you. And not to mention the network of friends you make through out your time.

Going to miss this place and Im going to miss the faculty and instructors that I've had the pleasure of learning from.

I had a hard time with this school. I started in January 2020, so certain circumstances were out of their control. However they got remote classes up an running fast, which was very impressive. That’s where they get 1/2 stars you see in this review…

I joined the school having been to another film school in Australia. So I had some previous education and experience in the industry. I found that the school’s teaching methods of filmmaking, that they teach you in the first semester, a little strange. Instead of teaching industry standards of what crew members do what, they teach you with small low budget short films in mind. For example they teach you that the 1st AD (First Assistant Director) does the set schedule and does the slates at the beginning of each take, NOT the 2nd CA (Second Camera Assistant) which isn’t industry standard anywhere in the world. Which sort of makes sense, for short films. But if you don’t have any film experience outside of film school it can make real film sets overwhelmingly alien. This was something a fellow student said to me after we graduated and I felt that to be a big issue. Especially for a school that prides itself as a school run by filmmakers for filmmakers.

As an international student I was impressed by how accommodating and friendly Alfretta (Head of Admissions) was. She got the required visa documents to me very quickly and even replied to emails on Sunday morning at 4am PST! When I arrived she was like a second mother and was very welcoming and kind, giving advice about living in San Francisco, which made the move to a new city and new country all the more easier! Unfortunately though during the pandemic, like most of the staff she felt the pressure and her temperament change very fast. Especially seeing as she was being over worked, and she had an additional pressure with the pandemic raging on, they struggled to find new students. Another surprise came when I applied as an international student. To secure your spot at the school as an international student, the school expects you to pay $20,000USD upfront. This I was told was assurance for the school, to guarantee that you would in fact be coming to the school. Which is no small amount money, but goes towards tuition, which was around $41,000 according to the website when I applied. This did unfortunately cause issues with payments down the road and it didn’t seem like their billing team was on the same page about how much had to be paid each semester. They are also criminally aggressive with getting payments from students, it’s very unsettling. They even went as far as threatening me with my visa, saying they’d cancel it if I didn’t pay. Basically threatening deportation. On top of that, in my third semester I was accidentally charged $15,000 extra! I found that I had to argue with the billing team, that this was an error. He was very rude and told me several times that I was wrong, until I wrote everything out for him, showed proof of payments and I even had to rope in Jeremiah (School President) and Fred Ritzenberg (Professor and Student Advisor) to help resolve this issue.

The in person classes that I experienced from January to March were great at least 40% of the time, for me having previously attended film school this was learning what I already knew. Which I had expected, but I found myself having to teach my classmates lots of things about camera settings, lenses, lighting, script writing and crew roles. Which isn’t a good sign. However the atmosphere at the school before the lockdown was awesome!

The best thing about the school was the classes that Fred Ritzenberg taught. When I was there, he taught; Script Writing and Business of Film. He’s an excellent teacher and a very nice person. However during the pandemic Jeremiah (School President and Founder) had to take leave, that meant for a while the school at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown went to down hill fast.

As a whole SFFS is a sinking ship. The pandemic was it’s iceberg. Don’t get me started on teachers that had to be fired or the registrar Eric.

This was a great school which provided me phenomenal exposure to the Film Industry. I have the confidence and verbal ability to pursue the independent film community. Thank you San Fran Film School for a great course of instruction and a job well done!

San Francisco Film school has single handedly restored my faith in the education of artistic expression through film. It feels great being a part of this institution. Big love and appreciation to Fred, Pam, Jan, Noemi, the T. A. 's, my classmates and Tammy. I love this school!

Hello, I'm Dave Stern, a freshman student in the A. A. S. Degree program at San Francisco Film School. I'm also a US Air Force veteran. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to attend this fine specialty & technical school for Digital Cinematography online. And as needed, in person. The resources, equipment and above all, the instructors and support staff are top notch. Thanks to their collective decades of "real world" industry experience, their many awards and global connections. In my instance, I am also dealing with several handicaps from a near fatal car accident. The school and instructors have been beyond accommodating. They took the time to understand my personal situation and have been able to help me succeed with my program in any way practical. I highly suggest to anyone interested in cinematography, screenwriting, acting, videography, editing, sound, marketing and more, they consider San Francisco Film School. Highly focused on a students success to fast track creating art and craft in the real world.

TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL! I’ve been trying to enroll into one of the programs and this school was absolutely the worst at communication.
1. Their website is old, doesn’t look appealing and has misleading information
2. The director doesn’t even know when the programs start
3. Had to call multiple times, left messages with assistants and no call back for weeks. No response to emails as well. After I asked in the email if I should move on and look for other school, Alfretta Clark (Vice President of Admissions/Student Services) said “your choice? ”

I wouldn’t risk giving this school a try. There are no videos on YouTube, no good reviews and no success stories and now I know why.

I really had a GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE doing the Certificate in Digital Media Program. The Professors ~ Morgan and Larissa ~ were very helpful and patiently willing to help me navigate and understand the Course Work. The Modules/Assignments given in this Certification Program ~ are very INSPIRING and truly GRATEFUL as I LEARNED a LOT. I realized that I DO WANT to CONTINUE doing this, as a Profession, as it will also allow me to connect with my Creative Side. I hope to start of as a Mentorship Program and go from there. This is definitely a STEPPING STONE for a CAREER CHANGE as it is FUN TO DO, and not really doing work as truly ENJOYING EVERY PART of this Certificate in Digital Media. THANK YOU SO MUCH for EVERYTHING! I AM TRULY SO HAPPY and GRATEFUL!

Was told classes were going to resume in person since business were aloud to fully open again. When me and other students arrived for the first day of class, they had us sit on a ZOOM call for class virtually. So why are we paying for class that are in person, but all of the teachers are virtual. School is a frickin joke and a half

The school said they were open from 9am until 9pm Monday - Friday as well as for a portion of Saturdays. As soon as the semester started, the hours were cut to 9: 30am - 5pm Monday - Friday. Saturday and Sundays are both now closed. They have not been transparent and have continually lied to get people into the door. They reverse course once they have your money. You would be best to spend your money elsewhere.