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FAST-TRACK YOUR CAREER IN THE GLOBAL SCREEN INDUSTRY
In our digital world, the skills and capabilities demanded of the screen director are multifaceted.
Unique in its structure, the Master of Arts Screen: Directing provides the opportunity for emerging directors to develop towards a mastery of screen directing through a program of carefully scaffolded collaborative workshops, research projects and mentorships.
For nearly 50 years, directing graduates from AFTRS have enjoyed successful and celebrated careers across the screen industries, locally and globally. AFTRS has repeatedly been named among The Hollywood Reporter’s top 15 film international film schools in their annual roundup.
A range of scholarships are available to successful applicants of the Master of Arts Screen; you will be prompted to apply for them following your submission –
- Netflix First Nations Scholarship
- Craft Excellence Scholarship
- Equity Scholarships
- First Nations Scholarships
Meet AFTRS’ Head of Directing Rowan Woods
Go behind the scenes of AFTRS’ Master of Arts Screen: Directing
Is the Master of Arts Screen: Directing right for you?
WHY DO THIS COURSE?
You will gain access to world-class mentors and lecturers for practical and theoretical insights into screen directing skill sets and leadership.
You will have the space, time and resources to develop, challenge and realise your vision. This course gives you the opportunity to work alongside cinematographers, writers, producers, designers, editors and composers in the development of creative projects. Through it, you will build ongoing relationships within future industry networks.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
The Master of Arts Screen: Directing supports and develops your creative voice while proposing an active engagement with emerging technologies, screen culture and audience.
Your creative leadership will be exercised through intensive practical workshops, underpinned by an investigative approach to contemporary screenplay analysis, screen language and best-practice collaborations with actors and other screen disciplines.
Throughout the first year of the Master of Arts Screen: Directing, you will develop practical directing skill sets, learning from leading industry practitioners. In the second year, using AFTRS’ world-class facilities, you will direct a major project and a strategically aligned creative practice research project.
During the course, there will be an opportunity for a professional placement, which aims to support your transition into the industry upon graduation.
Career opportunities
The Master of Arts Screen: Directing will equip you with specialist knowledge and collaborative experience, propelling you towards a professional role directing TV series, feature films, TVCs, gaming, online content and 360º formats.
Over the last nearly 50 years, AFTRS directing alumni have been nominated for and won a slew of awards. Notable AFTRS directing alumni include Jane Campion, winner of the Best Director Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Venice Silver Lion for The Power of the Dog (2021), nominated for BAFTA and Emmy Awards for Top of the Lake (2013, 2014) and nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director for The Piano (1994), for which she won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar; Gillian Armstrong, winner of AFI and London Critics Circle Film Awards for My Brilliant Career (1979), and winner of Australian Directors’ Guild Awards for Love, Lust & Lies (2010); Chris Noonan, nominated for an Academy Award Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Babe (1996); Cate Shortland, winner of Best Director at the AACTA Awards for Somersault (2004) and Berlin Syndrome (2017); Shannon Murphy, nominated for the Best Director BAFTA for Babyteeth (2019), after being the only film by a woman to premiere in competition at Venice that year, and current AFTRS Head of Directing Rowan Woods, winner of AFI and BAFTA Awards for his feature films and TV.
Meet Your Lecturers
Rowan Woods
Rowan Woods is an AFTRS alumni and award-winning director of TV and feature films. As Head of Directing he concurrently…
Partho Sen-Gupta
Partho Sen-Gupta is a film writer and director. Born in Mumbai, they worked as art director and production designer on…
Hannah Hilliard
Hannah Hilliard is a multi-award winning AFTRS graduate who has worked as a director in film, television, and commercials. She…
Megan Simpson Huberman
Megan Simpson Huberman is a writer, director, development consultant, script editor, story producer and senior development, production, and creative executive…
You will learn to
Demonstrate advanced knowledge of theory and practice as a director
Apply a deep understanding of cinematic storytelling to create audience-engaged work for the screen
Implement a creative practice that synthesises specialist knowledge and an understanding of personal process
Apply an adaptable skill set
Demonstrate an ability to collaborate across diverse projects
DISCLAIMER: Changes in circumstances may impact upon the accuracy or currency of information. While AFTRS takes all due care to ensure that the information is accurate, it reserves the right to vary any information described here without notice.
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