City Film - The MFA in Film Program at CCNY

After planning two separate shoots to capture his hometown of Portland, Maine in two different seasons, City-Film student, Will Carter, has wrapped production on his MFA thesis film, “Lost and Gone.”

“Lost and Gone,” is a nostalgic drama that poses the question: what if your most cherished memory is someone else’s deepest secret?

Catch Will’s film and 13 other thesis shorts at Cityvisions on May 26th!

Attention filmgoers! Agnès Varda, a comprehensive retrospective of the pioneering French filmmaker’s work, will run for three weeks from Friday, March 13 through Thursday, April 2 at Film Forum.

Agnès Varda’s (1928–2019) stature as one of the greatest of all filmmakers has only grown over the years. Making films over six decades, she helped launch the French New Wave and then surpassed it with the distinctive brand of filmmaking she called cinécriture (cine-writing). Moving freely between the authorship of fiction film and the spontaneity of documentary while also working prolifically as a visual artist and photographer, she created two dozen features and many short works.

Learn more here:
https://filmforum.org/series/agnes-varda-a-comprehensive-retrospective

2026 MFA candidate, Nicolás Palacio, made two trips to Columbia to film his thesis documentary, “Una madrugada soñé que me tragó el caimán,” (“One Morning I Dreamed the Alligator Swallowed Me”).

In the Colombian Caribbean town of Plato, a legend tells of a man who once transformed himself into an alligator. One Morning I Dreamed the Alligator Swallowed Me follows a solitary fisherman, driven by a secret desire and burdened by longing and guilt, as he wanders through rivers and marshlands unable to catch anything.

The film traces the life and afterlife of the Alligator Man as a mythical presence that inhabits Plato, revealing how myth and reality intertwine within Caribbean culture. Haunted streets and sculptures of the Alligator Man mirror the fisherman’s inner exile, forming a portrait of loneliness, human frailty, and amphibian folklore, shaped by enduring patriarchal codes, where past and present, human and beast, land and water coexist in an uneasy balance.

Congratulations on all your hard work, @101.596! We’ll see you at Cityvisions 2026!

“Supernova,” the award-winning thesis documentary by 2025 City-Film alumna, Michelene Billy, will be screened on March 3rd at the Women’s Center for Belonging and Inclusion as part of Women’s Herstory Month at the Borough of Manhattan Community College!

About the film:
After spending her formative years in a New York penitentiary, rapper Chyna Streetz carves a new path in the music industry, eventually securing a Roc Nation distribution deal. Supernova blends raw personal reflection with the realities of underground rap, capturing not only her artistic journey but her transformation as a woman. Through unfiltered lyricism and relentless resolve, Chyna rises as a symbol of resilience and power in a male-dominated industry where few are given the chance to thrive.

Trailer:
https://youtu.be/yPTE1jSGpQk?si=Ub-iK7gP9XMU_myA

A Q&A will follow with the film’s director and cinematographer, Michelene Mallard, CUNY Office Assistant of the BMCC Center for Belonging & Inclusion, and featured artist Chyna Streetz.

Don’t miss it!

Dear Upstairs Neighbor’ a short horror film by 2026 MFA candidate, Wen-Chi OLCEL, has been selected for The North Film Festival right here in Manhattan! OLCEL wrote and directed the film as part of her first semester coursework in collaboration with her fellow MFA candidates, .suth .official Benji Hom, and who stars in the film. Congratulations and !

If you were on campus on February 11th, you might have seen our MFA class of 2027 in the wild shooting scenes in vérité for their Directing Documentary class! Pictured above are and on their way to make some movie magic.

MFA candidate, Hannah Sutherland, traveled all the way to China to shoot her documentary thesis, ‘Daughter of Xuan’en.’ In the film, a Chinese American adoptee (Sutherland) returns to her birthplace for the first time in search for a connection to her roots.

Good luck in post-production .suth ! We’ll see you at Cityvisions on May 26th!

MFA candidate, Hannah Sutherland, traveled all the way to China to shoot her documentary thesis, ‘Daughter of Xuan’en.’ In the film, a Chinese American adoptee (Sutherland) returns to her birthplace for the first time in search for a connection to her roots.

Good luck in post-production .suth ! We’ll see you at Cityvisions on May 26th!

On February 23rd, City-film 2027 MFA candidate, Eric Richardson-Hagan, will present a staged reading of his screenplay, “If Only Yesterday,” as a part of the inaugural Voza Rivers Legacy Series Open-Mic Competition for emerging playwrights and screenwriters. The series is presented by New Heritage Theatre Group (the oldest Black theatre in New York) and the City College of New York.

Join us in celebrating Eric’s achievement!

“Ashes to the Eyes,” an MFA thesis film by 2025 City-Film alumna, Teresa Castillo, has been nominated for Best Mini Documentary at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana! Congratulations, !

The film: During Greece’s hottest summer on record, volunteer firefighters battle, increasingly dangerous wildfires with almost no safety net or support. Featuring dramatic body cam footage, as well as intimate, fly-on-the-wall observations, the human cost of the global wildfire crisis becomes front and center.

The festival: Big Sky is the premier venue for non-fiction film in the American West and takes places February 13-22.

City-Film student, Sher Bautista, is currently in post-production for her MFA thesis film, “Tales My Father Told,” about an immigrant dishwasher navigating life alone in New York, who needs to find the time and money to get his daughter a gift in time for her birthday.

Congratulations on your hard work! We’ll see you at Cityvisions 2026!

Great news for CCNY Film programs! Thank you, Hollywood Reporter! Read the article at the link below and get to know our advisory board!

, , , , Laura Poitras, Stanley Nelson, Nancy Savoca, and Ally Sheedy!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ally-sheedy-dawn-porter-laura-poitras-ccny-advisory-board-1236463579/