Brooklyn College opens film school inside Steiner Studios
Brooklyn College officially opened the doors of its new graduate film school at Steiner Studios, the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, during a press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio and other elected officials at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Tuesday. The school is the first of its kind located on a working film lot.
“This is the nation’s only film school on a working lot situated right here in Brooklyn,” de Blasio said. “You figure someone would have done it a long, long time ago, but New York City did it first and we are very proud of that. Students get the best and most cutting edge approaches and get an opportunity to see the work getting done and do it themselves hands on.”
The project was initially announced in 2012 and included an $8 million investment from New York City as part of a public-private partnership. The contribution includes $4.7 million toward construction, $2 million toward scholarships, $1 million for programming and $500,000 for creative grants and marketing.
“We are simply elated to have the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema here on the Steiner Studios lot,” said Douglas C. Steiner, chairman of Steiner Studios. “This co-location of academia and industry is cutting edge. Students are immersed in the real world thriving industry of film and television and being trained for the jobs of tomorrow. This is New York’s future at its best.”