Considering that our city boasts of having one of the most dynamic and vibrant film industries in the country, we have had a rather late start in opening up film schools in the city. While Ramanaidu Film School was one of the first big ventures that tried to change the phenomenon, Annapurna Studios is not far behind. They launched the International School of Film and Media (ISFM) on Thursday at The Park, declaring that this is the first-of-its-kind, non-profit, privately managed film and media school. Veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Nagarjuna along with CEO Kurt Inderbitzin, unveiled the logo of the institute on the occasion.Just another film school?ISFM is a privately managed, non-profit entity with dual mission to provide high quality education to students and offering highly-trained individuals to the entire media industry. When asked Inderbitzin to elaborate on the concept of non-profit he explained, “When we say we are a non-profit entity, we simply mean that whatever profits that are going to be made will be re-invested in the school. The money could be used to acquire higher faculty, equipments, or even to provide scholarships to students.” While every school claims to be student-centric, people at ISFM believe that their students come first and they will go to any length to make the classes interesting, fun and informative. “We want to make sure that when a students come to the class, they are enthusiastic to learn something new and they are in class because they want to be and not because they have to be,” added Inderbitzin, who had also launched Subhash Ghai’s Whistling Woods institute.Professional trainingInderbitzin and Nagarjuna believed that there is a dearth of professionally trained individuals for the film and media industry. According to them, this dearth is a result of lack of institutes to train people to enter films and media. “Media is the biggest growing market. People always want content. But there is a shortage of skilled media professionals. Through this school, we want to ensure that our students are well-trained and when they graduate from this school, they are ready to enter the real world,” explained Inderbitzin. To which Nagarjuna added, “We are not here for competition. We are here to work together — with other film schools and organisations.”Largest film school in asiaISFM is located at Annapurna Studios so that students at the school will have access to all production facilities in the studio. “I’m very happy to fulfill my father’s dreams. We are going to make this as the world’s best institute. We are constructing it in Annapurna Studios which has the premises of 22 acres land with the latest technical facilities,” said Nagarjuna humbly. Beyond actingISFM is not just about teaching one how to act. They have a wide varieties of courses at offer — right from short courses in practical filmmaking, music video production, to film appreciation and applications for iPhone and iPad, among many others. “We have done our research to make sure that we teach our students as per the expectations of the industry,” said Nagarjuna.Faculty membersThe faculty at ISFM is an eclectic mix of top notch domestic and foreign professionals — some who will dedicate full-time, while others will come as guest lecturers. When asked Nagarjuna if he would teach the students how to act, and he replied with a smile, “Just because I am actor, I don’t think I will be able to teach acting. But, I would love to visit the classes sometimes and interact with the students.” He further added that a lot his friends from the industry are interested in joining the panel of faculty members of ISFM.
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