International Academy of Film & Television Cebu

All of the mentors here are very knowledgeable and they are very well experienced. All of your time and effort will really pay off because you will learn everything here. Feels like you are in your own home too since everyone is friendly and nice

It's worth the effort because you will learn something new and useful definitely

The school teaches the 'western' style of filmmaking. Students are learning from people who have worked professionally in the American and British film industries. Western films generate the most revenue and the school's aim is to prepare students to commercially viable content. All film styles are allowed for student projects though. The IAFT is an international school. Foreign languages may be spoken on campus. However, there is an English only policy while in class and on film shoots. Approximately 40% of the students come from foreign countries. This enables everyone to communicate effectively. At the IAFT there is a great emphasis on hands-on training. There are short film projects every term. Students are restricted to shooting on campus during the first term, but may shoot off campus every term thereafter. Many of the teachers alternate between teaching at the school and working professionally in the film industry. It's common for an instructor to teach a couple of terms, leave to work on a film, then return to teaching at the IAFT. Most of the teachers have been doing this for years.

Am not gonna be a hypocrite and say that what cinemanila commented on is not true. IAFT has it's goodside and it shows promise. Unfortunately it was managed and ran by some incompetent people in the past which failed to fight for what they think is best for the film school but instead became lapdogs and swallowed every policy made without even checking on the logic behind. However crappy some situations would be at the film school, let's face it. Some of the students have learned from the good mentors that they have had. It's just that IAFT should not stunt the students' creativity. And it should not be treated like a sweatshop wherein they use the students for their projects and do not pay them adequately, if they get paid at all.

In this school you will NOT learn the film craft properly. Artsy films are strongly discouraged, as well as the study of world cinema. Instead, the school will teach you how to make movies the way they like: upbeat B-movies (pathetic comedies) and only in English (he thinks foreign language films don't sell; but what does that have to do with student films?? What about freedom of expression????). No off-campus shoots, limited access to all facilities and equipment, absolutely no foreign language can be spoken in the school premises, and of course the infamous English-only policy, are some of the many rules enforced. Unfortunately, the management puts a lot of pressure on the mentors as well, ordering them to stick to their insane rules, and constantly monitoring their work in class. For these reasons, all the best mentors leave after one or two terms, and never return. Being part of the first batch of students, I've been lucky enough to have great teachers (which are all gone of course) that had the guts to fight for the students, but now that the truth about this school is spreading widely, all the best teachers stay away from it. In conclusion, forget about enrolling this school. You're better off investing your money in a real school, or in your own film (which you can shoot in Tagalog, Visaya, Spanish, French, Russian...). There's a lot more that you should know about the IAFT. The best thing to do is to talk with current and former students before even thinking of enrolling. With the exception of a few students, the majority of them will tell you to stay away from IAFT. I am clearly one of them.

The International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) offers courses that combine theory and application training under the directions of leading Hollywood filmmakers serving as faculty mentors.