World class film and animation school in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - With Cebu City being a central hub of business and recreation in the country, it is only fitting that it also be a major center for the arts. One area of the arts that seems to be bubbling up quite vigorously in the city is digital media. In particular, Cebu has created a buzz around Asia in the last few years as an emerging film-production education capital in the region.

On Monday, March 16, a new film school opened in Cebu - the Film and Media Arts International Academy (FMA). It is the second accredited international vocational school of its kind around here. Located in the old Sacred Heart School for Boys along Gen. Maxilom Avenue, FMA offers programs firmly grounded in the technical crafts required to make digital films. This includes the Diploma in Film and Creative Media Arts as well as the Diploma in 3D Animation.

"We provide our students a firm grounding in all the essential crafts needed for digital filmmaking, along with the flexibility to develop different students at a pace that is optimized for their interests and emphasis," Says FMA Academic Director Timm Doolen. The school's industry-seasoned instructors, Doolen adds, provide very practical pedagogy alongside their wealth of industry experience to prepare students to function in the professional world of film and television after graduation.

FMA Chief Executive Officer Jeanette Tongoy can never be more precise in revealing one of the school's objectives. "We want to enable students to gain competency in all the technical crafts of digital filmmaking, including cinematography, editing, and sound recording and mixing." she points out.  "To us, the only way to produce professionally-skilled students is to give them adequate  hands-on production experience, [under the guidance of top] industry professionals, to handle the latest state-of-the-art film and sound equipment which we are very proud to have."

Looking at an increase in international enrolment from the ASEAN region, FMA's location is couldn't be more strategic. "Cebu's rich culture and expanding arts, coupled with Filipino hospitality," Tongoy explains, "ensure that our students have a ready environment for their creative pursuits. Aside from producing talented filmmakers, another goal of the school, she adds, "is to make Cebu City the Film City of the South."

The FMA even has positive outlook on possible collaboration with high schools in Cebu, as the country is moves towards the full implementation of the K12 Program of the Department of Education. The school has prepared a K-12 program for both the filmmaking and animation.

"If the high schools accept the program," according to Timm Doolen, "students would attend three of our terms, [equivalent to] 33 weeks, starting in late June of any given year and finishing the following March. The programs are designed to prepare graduating high school students for entry level jobs in the visual media." FMA has already proposed its K12 programs to Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Ateneo and St. Theresa's College. The programs are also available to other high schools.

"The students will be immersed in the same filmmaking and animation programs and courses that our regular students take, with just a few less classes," Doolen says. "The maximum class size will be 16 students for filmmaking and 12 students for animation."

One thing about FMA is that its tuition rates are not at all intimidating. Considering the top-quality programs and hands-on experience it offers, the rates are amazingly low. The school even has scholarship slots for deserving students.

Inquiries about FMA's programs and other offerings may be phoned in at (+63 32) 260-8707. More information is also available at www.FilmMediaArts.com.