International Film School Wales
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Film School Wales (IFSW) is part of the Arts, Media & Design College at University of Wales, Newport. It is considered the leading institution for the promotion and development of the audiovisual culture of Wales through higher-level education, research and training. It is currently home to over 500 undergraduate and postgraduate students at IFSW studying a range of film related courses often practically based and benefiting from the locality within a region currently thriving with film and television production.
IFSW was formerly known as the Newport Film School, set up in 1966 by renowned documentary film maker John Grierson. This strong tradition of documentary practise holds strong today with successful BBC documentary director Christopher Morris (An American in Aberfan) hosting the Documentary Film BA degree course and award winning director Florence Ayisi (Sisters in Law) teaching the Film & Video BA course.
In 2004 Oscar-nominated director Ken Russell was appointed visiting professor to the university and annually attends the Graduation film presentation evening (Every June since 2004) 'Finest Films' where 3rd year BA graduates showcase their final practical pieces and receive awards in the style of traditional film awards i.e. 'Best Director.
The film school prides itself on a successful parallel mixture of theory study and practical creativity which it believes drives the unique quality of its film makers. Graduates have included such talents as Justin Kerrigan (Human Traffic) and double BAFTA-award winning Asif Kapadia.
