The Northern Film School

We make great filmmakers. Our students make great films.

The Northern Film School is one of the best-known film and television schools in the UK. Making innovative and award-winning films for over 25 years (although we can trace our history back much further). Storytelling, technical expertise and creativity, all taught by professionals, make our graduates the filmmakers of the future.

The school prides itself on:

Practical filmmaking, with real production budgets.
Teaching staff with international film and TV credits.
Industry partnerships, placements and collaborations.
Specialised teaching in Producing, Directing, Screenwriting, Production Design, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, Animation and Documentary.
State of the art camera, lighting, sound, editing and post equipment.
Industry standard studios, post-production suites, and production offices.
Courses informed by film theory and criticism.

With its roots originating in the late 1970s in the Leeds Polytechnic Film Unit, the Northern School of Film and Television came into being in January 1990. Eventually simplifying its name to the Northern Film School and residing within the School of Film, Music and Performing Arts at Leeds Beckett University. The Northern Film School offers filmmaking awards at BA (Hons), MA, MFA and PhD levels, attracting students from around the world.

The main school site is in the historic Electric Press building on Millennium Square in the centre of Leeds. Here we have studios, edit labs, edit suites, grading suites, animation facilities, props and set storage, kit storage, a sound studio, production offices, flexible teaching spaces and staff offices. We have another site at the professional Prime Studios on Kirkstall Road, a short walk from Electric Press. Kirkstall Road is the centre of film and television production in Leeds, with major TV series and feature films regularly shooting there. With access to over 10, 000sq ft of studio space and a full-size infinity cove, our Prime Studios base puts our students at the heart of professional production in Yorkshire.

Many Northern Film School alumni have gone on to win major awards, including BAFTAs and Oscars, for their work in television and film. In 2014, the Northern Film School was recognised by the Hollywood Reporter, the leading American entertainment trade publication, as one of five film schools’ to watch in the world.

The school is tremendously proud of its graduates and looks forward to their continued success as it prepares the next generation of filmmakers.