Filmmaking in Paris, France
a study abroad program by the College of Staten Island
Film and Filmmaking in Paris, France
Spend three weeks during the summer of 2025 exploring the French culture through the lens of a camera. You’ll learn about film theory and French cinema from CSI faculty and host partners. You’ll engage in specially curated screenings and will employ the theoretical strategies and aesthetics learned in the classroom into your own film and media productions.
This summer, students’ films will focus on a specific theme. Paris. The city will provide the palate as you write, shoot, edit, and produce a short film using our partner's facilities. In the evenings, you can draw inspiration from all of the sights, sounds, and tastes available. Or perhaps you’ll join your CSI faculty in exploring the city, learning about its history and its place in the world of film.
Film Production
Working in groups, you will be guided in manifesting the concepts learned in the classroom into movies. You will be involved in the full process of creating a film, from concept to editing. The goal is to create a package of short films that showcase the rich cultural dynamic of film in French culture.
All production equipment for principal photography while in France, are provided by CUNY-CSI and its host partner, EICAR.
"France is one of the first havens of film in history. Having that opportunity to learn cinema where all other great cinephiles and filmmakers learned, created and grew was invaluable. To learn about this cinema was a great privilege that I am forever grateful for."
- Salwa Saif, 2018 program
Past Projects
Faculty-Led
Our program is faculty-led which means that classes will be taught in English by CSI professor, David A. Gerstner. Your experiential learning is guided, goal-oriented, and can continue after the program ends. As a recipient of the French Order of Arts and Letters for his academic dedication to French Cinema, there is no better person to lead such a program than Prof. Gerstner.
Prof. Gestner is join by lab technican, Mitchell Lovell who will assist students in production techniques and skills. He brings with him experience in film production, arts administration and study abroad coordination.
What to know
Faculty-led, taught in English
3 Weeks in July
for college credit
I was able not only to submerge myself in a new and exciting culture but also learn to work with a group of people on a documentary that challenged us all emotionally and mentally. It was a stimulating journey that anyone interested in discovering new cultures or film should partake in.
-Nicholas Jastrzebski, 2016 program
Screenings
Students will be immersed in French cinema for daily screenings curated by Prof. Gerstner. The selections will get students to engage critically and about France's cinematic form and history. Meanwhile students will adopt what they learn into their own works.
I honestly cannot understate in any capacity how important this program was to my Graduate experience—besides going to a chateau, how many film studies students can say they got to go to the CNC (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image) and meet Christophe Honoré? The structure of the class was incredibly engaging, more like a film symposium with guest lecturers, and discussion. Which of course was then reinforced by the actual process of planning our own group film. The program is as intrinsically amorous as you'd imagine, and twice as fun.
- Matthew Ballinger, 2016 program
