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Documentary filmmaking has been the foundation of the Film Program at City College since its inception more than eight decades ago. At a time when film was becoming a central force in American culture and art, there were few places where undergraduates could formally study it—until the founding of the Institute of Film Techniques at CCNY.

Unlike Ivy League or elite institutions, which were largely inaccessible to aspiring filmmakers from working-class or immigrant backgrounds, City College offered something different. As a public institution with low or no tuition, the college attracted a diverse student body—people who may have been financially shut out elsewhere. But it wasn’t just affordability that defined the program. From the start, City College became home to bold, visionary filmmakers.

One of the first was pioneering German filmmaker Hans Richter, who set the experimental tone that still defines the program today. Richter, a revolutionary artist and contributor to Dadaism, Surrealism, and the New American Cinema Movement, directed films like Rhythmus 21 and Ghosts Before Breakfast. After fleeing Nazi Europe, he arrived in New York and became the founding director of the Institute of Film Techniques at City College. Here, he helped guide working-class New Yorkers into careers as directors, producers, writers, and cinematographers who would go on to shape the industry. As alumnus Rafael Samanez (MFA ’19) reflected: “The school today has many parallels to the past, and I feel proud to be a part of that legacy. Most of us are people of color or immigrants, and we share the experience of many of the first students, who were immigrants from Europe and needed to tell their stories.” 

Professor and director David Davidson chronicled this legacy in several of his films. His 2019 documentary Cinema and Sanctuary traces the roots of the Institute of Film Techniques, while his 2013 biopic Hans Richter: Everything Turns, Everything Revolves explores Richter’s life and influence. Davidson was drawn to the improbable story of how an avant-garde aristocrat came to mentor and shape the lives of working-class students in New York—a legacy that continues to resonate. The CCNY film program ventures beyond the confines of traditional filmmaking. It consciously embraces an interdisciplinary approach, creating a space where creative expression flourishes across various art forms. Film becomes the nexus uniting the realms of artistic possibilities.

From its earliest days, the film program has produced groundbreaking filmmakers who have shaped the documentary and independent film landscape. One of the program’s earliest students under Hans Richter, Shirley Clarke, emerged as a central figure in American avant-garde and documentary film. She earned an Academy Award nomination and influenced generations of experimental artists. Julie Dash, a 1974 graduate, became the first African-American woman to direct a feature film with general theatrical release in the U.S. with the cinematic milestone Daughters of the Dust. The legacy continued with Stanley Nelson (BFA ‘76), a MacArthur Fellow and Emmy-winning documentarian whose work centers African-American experiences, and Darko Lungulov (BFA ‘96), an internationally acclaimed Serbian-American filmmaker. Rania Attieh (MFA ‘09), a Guggenheim and Rockefeller Fellow, has found critical success with her work screening at major festivals including Venice and Sundance. Fan He (MFA ‘14), a Chinese-born producer and entrepreneur, made a global impact through both independent and blockbuster productions, including We Are Living Things directed by the MFA in Film current co-director Antonio Tibaldi, Mojin: The Lost Legend, and several award-winning documentaries and web series viewed by millions across China. More recently, Nyala Moon (MFA ‘20)  gained recognition for her bold, intimate portrayals of Black trans lives which earned numerous festival awards and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2023. Across the decades, CCNY alumni have consistently pushed boundaries—telling urgent stories and influencing the cultural conversation through film.

Over time, the Institute evolved into today’s BFA Program in Film and Video, which launched in the 1950s and expanded to the MFA in Film, founded in 1999 by David Davidson. Both programs are housed within the Department of Media and Communication Arts and teach both fiction and nonfiction filmmaking. Film at CCNY  is distinguished from other collegiate programs by its faculty—who are all working filmmakers—and by its commitment to cultivating original voices as daring as Richter himself. Contributors like director David Davidson and acclaimed artists such as Herman Lew and Chantal Akerman, helped establish an ethos of rigorous craft and boundary-pushing inquiry. Adjuncts including Rich Guay, Nancy Gerstman, Phil Bertelsen, Livia Bloom Ingram, Rick Smigielski, JT Takagi, and current instructors Wendy Lidell—former Head of Acquisitions at film distributor Kino Lorber until 2024—and renowned sound designer David Briggs contributed industry experience and intellectual depth into the classroom, mentoring students in the poetic, political, and technical possibilities of cinema.

Current program director Antonio Tibaldi brings impressive global credentials as, an award-winning international director and brings a distinctive global-humanitarian lens shaped by ongoing collaborations with the United Nations. His films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, and IDFA, and he was recently awarded the 2025 Katz Professorship and is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow. Tibaldi leads a program grounded in cinematic craft and political urgency. Other faculty contribute with equally dynamic expertise: screenwriter Annie J. Howell (Yellow Rose) bridges Hollywood and indie storytelling; Emmy-winning cinematographer Martina Radwan (Girls State) brings technical precision and ethical vision; and scholars like Dr. Boukary Sawadogo and Jerry Carlson frame documentary within global cinematic traditions. BFA program director Deirdre Fishel is an independent filmmaker of both documentaries and dramas. Her films have premiered in competition at Sundance and SXSW and been broadcast in thirty-five countries worldwide. Her documentary STILL DOING IT: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65 was also expanded into a book (Penguin 2008). Co-director of the MFA Andrea Weiss is an Emmy-winning filmmaker whose recent documentary The Five Demands aired nationally on PBS and whose body of work spans themes of LGBTQ+ history, memory, and resistance.  From sound and editing to marketing and producing, the CCNY faculty offers a holistic education led by filmmakers who practice what they teach.

The success of City College’s film alumni is deeply tied to the mentorship and community they found within the program. Alex Lora (MFA ’12), a seven-time Emmy winner and 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize recipient, began a creative partnership with professor Antonio Tibaldi during his time at City College that is still active. Together, they have co-directed Godka Cirka, an award-winning nonfiction film about female genital mutilation in Somaliland, and Thy Father’s Chair, in competition at IDFA, and a NYT Critic’s Pick upon its domestic theatrical release. Lora continues to consult with Tibaldi on his own award-winning projects. Razid Season (MFA ’19), whose humanitarian-focused films have earned recognition across international festivals and CUNY TV, credits faculty mentors like Tibaldi for shaping his visual storytelling and resilience as an artist. For Sisa Quispe (MFA ’23), the program became a place of belonging and collaboration. Her film Urpi: Her Last Wish has screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals, and her broader work in Indigenous language and identity continues to flourish—rooted in the support and shared vision she found at CCNY. Through faculty guidance and a strong sense of community, these alumni exemplify how the program continues to nurture bold, socially engaged storytellers.


*Image: MFA Film student Nicolas Palacio shooting his documentary in Colombia