UCLA Professional Programs at TFT

Congrats to Professional Program in Screenwriting alum Gwenola Balmelle whose writing on Bandi helped it reach Top 10 worldwide on Netflix!!

Bandi – Official Trailer | Netflix Bandi – Official Trailer | NetflixRelease: April 9, 2026After their mother's death, a group of orphaned siblings in Martinique struggles to get by, driving s...

The deadline to apply to the UCLA TFT spring 2026 Professional Program in DIRECTING for film and television is this Monday, March 2. Classes start March 30. This program is only offered once per year.

Directing - UCLA TFT Professional Programs The Professional Program in Directing provides an overview of the art and craft of Directing in the current film and television industries. This graduate-level competitive admission program is taught in small seminar-style lectures by credentialed industry guest speakers who provide current insights...

FREE SCREENING at UCLA. RSVP below! Join us on Tuesday, November 25 at 7pm in UCLA TFT’s James Bridges Theater for screenings of two Oscar qualifying films from two different UCLA Professional Programs alum!

We will be screening the short film RISE—the first Zimbabwean film to qualify for the Oscars, written and directed by Screenwriting and Writing for Television alum Jessica Rowlands.

This will be followed by a screening of PAPA BUKA—the official submission for the Oscars from Papua New Guinea in the Best International Feature Film category, starring Acting for the Camera alum Ritabhari Chakraborty.

The evening’s screenings are for the Academy members, as well as friends and alum of TFT, and will be followed by a Q&A with actors and the creative teams.

Click below to RSVP.

Join us on November 25 at 7pm in UCLA TFT’s James Bridges Theater for screenings of two Oscar qualifying films from two different TFT Professional Programs alum! We will be screening the short film RISE—the first Zimbabwean film to qualify for... Event Address: James Bridges Theater, UCLA 235 Charles E Young Dr N Los Angeles, CA 90095 Contact us at [email protected] with any questions.

Check out Producing and Acting alum Kayci Laycob's new movie Everything to Me!

It's releasing tomorrow on Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft, Google Play/Youtube, Fandango, Dish, DirectTV, Comcast, Cox, Spectrum, and Verizon.

Check out Producing alum Grace Santos' new movie Almost Popular. Now streaming.

Here's the trailer for Sacha's movie. Don't miss it!

Anvil! The Story of Anvil! | Official Trailer | Utopia LA premiere & LIVE performance 9/22 & In Theaters Nationwide 9/27 🤘https://www.anvilthefilm.com/Originally released in '08, the award-winning Anvil! The Sto...

Sacha Gervasi is brilliant! And he’s a TFT screenwriting alum. If you’re in town, YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST GO SEE ANVIL at the Aero Theater on Sept. 17. Sacha and Anvil will be doing a Q&A moderated by Jimmy John after the movie. DON’T MISS THIS!

Professional Programs received praise from MovieMaker. Check it out.

The 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, 2025 When we set out to compile our latest list of the 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, we started with a simple question: What schools will help you

Check out this interview on film school .org with Professional Programs Director Brian Fagan.

https://www.filmschool.org/articles/inside-ucla-tft’s-professional-programs-a-conversation-with-director-brian-patrick-fagan-part-1.215/

How to Apply to UCLA TFT’s Professional Programs (Part 1) Brian Patrick Fagan, Director of UCLA TFT’s Professional Programs, shares what makes applicants stand out and how film students find community.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2025 UCLA Professional Programs at TFT Writing Competitions! Every year, emerging creatives go head-to-head and put their talent to the test while writing feature screenplays and television pilots. Entires are judged by industry experts and program alumni, and winners and honorable mentions receive $1,750 in tuition for recognition of their achievements.

Congrats to:
Amy Jacobowitz, Advanced Competition winner
Ricarda Ecker, Screenwriting Competition winner
Kate McFarland, Writing for Television - Comedy Pilot Competition winner
Andrew Green, Writing for Television - Drama Pilot Competition winner
Kevin T. Johnson, Screenwriting Competition honorable mention
Kevin Murphy, Writing for Television - Comedy Pilot Competition honorable mention
Petros Paranikas, Writing for Television - Drama Pilot Competition honorable mention

Learn more about the projects:

TFT Professional Program Unveils 2025’s Top Emerging Voices in Screenwriting and Television - UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television A celebration of innovative storytelling took place as UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Professional Programs announced the winners of its 2025 writing competitions. The event, which showcases groundbreaking talent across feature screenplays and television pilots, spotlights emerging...

Learn DIRECTING for TV and FILM at UCLA.
Apply by March 2, 2026-- Classes begin on March 30, 2026

Over the course of 38 sessions with special guest directors and industry professionals, students in this graduate-level certificate program learn the tools necessary to command a professional film or television project through development, preproduction, production and postproduction.

Study with professionals from The Sopranos, Sh**un, Homeland, Running Point, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the BBC, The Shield, The Last of Us, Final Destination: Bloodlines, The Goldbergs, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Naughty Dog, Alias, It Follows, Promising Young Woman, I Feel Pretty, Mad Men, Jack Ryan, Dandelion, and more!

The following topics are scheduled: Working with Producers, Articulation of Narrative POV, Story for Film and TV, The Director of Photography, Pitch Decks, Trailers and Looks Books, The Casting Session, The Production Designer, The Director and the Budget, Previsualization, The Tone Meeting/Table Read, Designing the Shot, The Assistant Director, Hostile Filming Environments, Dramatizations and True Crime, Indie vs. Studio Case Studies, How to Break Into the Business, The Horrors of Directing Low Budget Horror, The Commercial Director, Intimacy Coordination, Costume Design, Working with an Editor, Stunt Coordination, AI and the Director, Scoring for Film and Television, Guest Directing Episodic, Post Sound, Acting for Directors—and on campus nights of working with Special Guest Directors directing actors in different genres and situations.

https://professionalprograms.tft.ucla.edu

UCLA TFT Professional Programs UCLA TFT Professional Programs. Screenwriting. Producing. Writing for Television. Acting for the Camera. Directing.

Are you going to write 2 screenplays, or 1 TV spec and 2 original pilots, between October and June? You will if you're accepted into one of our graduate-level certificate programs in Screenwriting or Writing for Television.

APPLY BY AUG. 18 at https://professionalprograms.tft.ucla.edu

UCLA TFT Professional Programs UCLA TFT Professional Programs. Screenwriting. Producing. Writing for Television. Acting for the Camera. Directing.