Vancouver Film School

VFS opened in January 1987 with a single class of six film students[5] and has steadily expanded since. Recent milestones in the school's history include hosting the annual Game Design Expo in Vancouver, which began in January 2007,[6] and partnering with YouTube to launch a 2008 scholarship competition for the creators of three videos submitted and voted upon by the YouTube community.[4]

In 2018, VFS announced three 'Kevin Smith Scholarships' in Acting, Writing and Film Production covering full-tuition. Thirteen partial-scholarships were also awarded, funded by Smith. Smith personally selected the recipients from over nine hundred applications.[7] In February 2019, the school announced the 'Emily Bett Rickards Acting Scholarship', a partnership between VFS and Rickards, to fund a full scholarship for both of the school's acting programmes, as well as additional partial funding of $250,000 for other students. Rickards will also select the recipients.[8] In May of the same year, VFS announced they would be supporting Vancouver-based Reality Curve Theatre in their off-Broadway production of Zayd Dohrn's Reborning, headlined by Rickards, to be performed at the SoHo Playhouse.[9]

VFS offers one-year, hands-on production programs,[10] including Film Production, 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Classical Animation, Acting for Film & Television, Digital Design, Entertainment Business Management, Foundation Visual Art & Design, Game Design, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Sound Design for Visual Media, and Writing for Film & Television. The school also runs a four-month Acting Essentials course and a 6-month Digital Character Animation program.[11]

• Michael S. Baser, head of Writing for Film & Television – writer/producer whose credits include Good Times, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, and Maude (TV series).[12]
• Mark Busse, instructor – founder & managing director of industrial brand, founder & host of CreativeMornings in Vancouver, author of "Design School Didn't Tell You..." column in Design Edge Magazine.
• Stan Edmonds, head of Makeup Design for Film & Television – key makeup artist on The Butterfly Effect, Get Carter, and Scary Movie, and makeup department head on I, Robot.
• Marv Newland, instructor – animator of the 1969 short Bambi Meets Godzilla.

• Magda Apanowicz – actor known for her roles as Andy Jensen on the TV series Kyle XY and Lacy Rand on Caprica.
• Shakun Batra – Bollywood director of Kapoor & Sons" and "Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu".
• Neill Blomkamp – Oscar nominated screenwriter and director of District 9.
• Anugrah Bohrey – writer of Best of Luck (2012 film) and Himmat Singh.
• Sara Canning – series regular (Seasons 1 and 2) on the television series The Vampire Diaries as well as numerous film and television credits.
• Jonathan Cherry – actor in House of the Dead, Final Destination 2, and many other television and film productions.
• Colin Cunningham – actor in television and film on both sides of the border.
• Garth Dyke – actor, writer, director, and award-winning producer with Tellies and Promax awards to his credit
• Clint Eland – founder & president of Mercury Filmworks, Canada's largest privately owned animation production studio.
• Hanna Hall – most known for her acting roles in Forrest Gump, The Virgin Suicides and the 2007 remake of Halloween.
• Dave Klein – cinematographer, best known for work with Kevin Smith.
• Neil Kopp – producer of Old Joy and director Gus Van Sant's 2007 film Paranoid Park for which Kopp won a 2008 Independent Spirit Award.[13]
• John G. Lenic – TV producer and production manager best known for his work on Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe.
• Seth Lochhead – writer of Hanna.
• Steve Lund – actor, best known for Schitt’s Creek, Haven and Bitten.
• Niall Matter – actor, best known for Primeval: New World and Eureka.
• Chad Moffitt[14] – Academy Award–winning animator on The Lord of the Rings[15]
• Lon Molnar – co-founder, CEO, and senior visual effects supervisor at Toronto-based visual effects studio Intelligent Creatures.
• Scott Mosier – film producer, editor, and cameo actor who produced the Academy Award-nominated documentary Salim Baba. He met Kevin Smith and cinematographer Dave Klein at VFS, and since graduating, the three have collaborated on the films in the View Askewniverse.[16]
• Andrew Overtoom – Animation Director on SpongeBob SquarePants, for which he was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2007.
• Emily Bett Rickards – actress best known for her role as Felicity Smoak on Arrow.
• Stacey Roy – actor, new media producer and creator of Whabam Media and WHABAM.tv
• Manmord Sidhu – Bollywood producer, director & distributor. He formed a production and distribution company named White Hill Production & White Hill Music.
• Kevin Smith – director of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl and Clerks II; Smith dropped out in 1993[17] and was presented with an honorary diploma in 2005.[18]
• Tara Spencer-Nairn – actor in Corner Gas.
• Jewel Staite – Canadian-born actress famous for her work on Joss Whedon's Firefly, and Stargate: Atlantis.
• Emilie Ullerup – actor in Sanctuary.
• James Wootton – co-director of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

• Film
• Glossary of motion picture terms
• Higher education in British Columbia

Media related to Vancouver Film School at Wikimedia Commons

• Vancouver Film School
• The Canadian Film Centre Website
• The Worldwide Short Film Festival Website
• GIFTS indie film school official site