Film and Television Production | Undergraduate | The Cathy Hughes School of Communications

Our Story

In addition to expanding students’ practical skills in scriptwriting, editing, producing, cinematography, documentary film production and directing, this comprehensive program includes coursework that examines the historical and theoretical framework of cinema and television from a global and cultural perspective.

The course of study culminates in a senior thesis where students may choose to deliver a screenplay/teleplay or produce a short film.

Our Film and Television Production students have earned prestigious awards including the Princess Grace, Paul Robeson Student Awards, and Emmy Awards, in recognition for their outstanding work.

Upcoming Events

2nd annual HBCU First LOOK Film Festival

November 8-November 10, 2024

Location: Blackburn University Center

2397 6th St NW, Washington, DC 20059

Contact: Nyah Campbell, Class of 2023

Special Projects Coordinator
Miles Ahead Entertainment & Broadcasting
nyah@milesaheadentertainment.com
www.milesaheadentertainment.com
Office: 301-249-1700

2023 HBCU First LOOK Festival Highlights

Student Work

was named the 2024 Beinecke Scholarship recipient. Bryant, who is currently interning with Sony Pictures Television Studios is the fifth Howard student to receive the prestigious award in 50 years.

is a Creative Intern at Warner Bros.

works as the Campus Marketing Representative for Sony Music Entertainment, where she plans events and executes campaign tactics that promote and support Sony's artists.

BA Film and TV Student Jacob A Smith at Paramount Pictures

was recently an intern with Paramount Pictures.

Photo of HU student Cyan Shreve with camera

was the recipient of the 2023 Focus Features Innovation and Creativity Award for her original short film, Sincerely Jonah. She is now an intern in the production departments of 20th Century Studios.

was recently named one of the HBCU filmmakers of the year by the National Black Movie Association. His debut project “When I Wake”, which premiered at Amazon Studios, has gone on to receive over eight festival selections.

was founded in 2022 by Payton Mack, Class of 2022. The annual event serves as a vessel for emerging black storytellers to be uplifted through premiering their thesis films to fellow students and the greater DMV community. Mack, who is now a 2nd Year MFA Film & Television Production student at the University of Southern California, recently screened her short film 'Forsee' (2023) at the Oscar-Qualifying Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. It was named one of the 2023 Best of the Fest short films.

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2024 Howard Thesis Showcase

Program Highlights

Lance Gross and Taraji P Henson at Howard Parade

Howard Entertainment, a partnership between Amazon Studios and Howard University was designed to diversify the pipeline for talent across the entertainment industry. Our students train and study alongside entertainment executives. It offers students a unique interdisciplinary curriculum, coupled with hands-on work experiences and networking with entertainment industry partners.

Students must be a junior majoring in Music, Art, Theater, Film & TV, and PR, or a second year law student. Candidates will have to complete an application and interview to be considered for the program.

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Howard University Film Organization (HUFO) is for all undergraduate and graduate film majors. Founded in 1989, HUFO is a safe and creative student-led film organization dedicated to educating, enlightening, entertaining and empowering audiences through cinema.

HUFO's mission is to organize individuals interested in gaining hands-on experiences in the art of filmmaking (i.e. acting, directing, cinematography, wardrobe, screenwriting, producing, etc.) Outside the classroom, HUFO helps young Black filmmakers explore their passion through workshops, lectures, mentorship programs, film productions and screenings.

Current Events: Cinematic Connection Mixer, Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 6:30 PM-8:00 PM

Location: Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts: Rain Room

Our Past Events

The Department of Media, Journalism and Film in the Howard University Cathy Hughes School of Communications in Washington, DC, initiated the Paul Robeson Student Awards during the 1980s. Through the awards, the Department pays tribute to Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 - January 23, 1976), a gifted scholar, athlete, and one of the most celebrated artists of his day on the silver screen, theatrical and concert stages and in the recording studio. In his honor, the Department’s Paul Robeson Student Awards recognizes some of the best work by our journalism, audio production, television production and film production students. In 2015, the Department’s Paul Robeson Student Awards honored our MJF alum Bradford Marcel Young, Class of 1999 along with director Ava DuVernay.

Photo: Bradford Young at the 2015 Paul Robeson Student Awards

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an Oscar-qualifying film festival, is now a community partner with Howard University's Film and Television Sequence. Founded in 1997 by Stacy Spikes, it is one of the largest internationally competitive festivals of its kind, hosted in New York City.

dedicated a block of 60 min to 70 mins to our Film and Television undergraduate students' work this June.

Black Bottom Film Festival 2023 poster in partnership with HU

showcased both Howard University undergraduate and MFA Film student work. Our students had a block of 2 hours to showcase films produced in our programs at the festival.

Guest Speakers & Workshops

Johanna Makabi speaks with Howard Students

gave a guest lecture to over 30 History of Broadcast & Film students at Howard University. Our students watched 'Black Girl' (1966) and Makabi’s short film ‘Notre mémoire’ or 'Our Memory' (2022) on the life of Mbissine Thérèse Diop, the actress who starred in Ousmane Sembène’s film. Makabi's visit was organized by Assistant Professor Akosua Adoma Owusu.

Makabi recently won the 2024 student prize at the Academy Awards® Qualifying BronzeLens Film Festival for her short film 'Grace' (2022). As part of the BronzeLens Film Festival, she was joined by former HU Faculty and noted director Julie Dash for an engaging panel discussion on Black storytelling across the Diaspora.

Photo: Johanna Makabi speaks with HU Film and Television students

Special Guests of the Film and Television Sequence

Film and TV Practicum Course

Production Inclusion Project - Mentorship program - Production Assistant 101 workshop
Aqiyla Moody, Recruiter-Talent Acquisition – Emerging Talent, Paramount
Mike Wilson, Cinematographer/Gaffer

Production, Distribution and Exhibition Course

Khalid Jordan, Director of Development, Macro
Errol Sadler, Producer, Supremacy Films

Short form Video Production Course

Jeredon O Conner- Executive Producer/Director, Imaginarium Creative Agency
Breonna Hogan O Conner-Executive Producer, Showrunner, Imaginarium Creative Agency Gum.mp3, recording artist

Faculty Spotlight

Parenthesis Poster by Vasilios Papaioannu

has won the Honorable Mention Award at the Video Art & Experimental Film Festival (VAEFF) that took place at the Tribeca Film Center in NYC in November 2023. That is the 14th award received by the project.

Papaioannu was interviewed by the Iranian Filmmaker and Syracuse University Professor Soudabeh Moradian for the film as part of the curated program “Beyond Observation” for the Cryptofiction Media.

Photo: 'Parenthesis' film poster

has received a Digital Media Archive Fellowship with People’s Media. Through this fellowship, Tina will archive her 20 years of video footage of the Philadelphia’s ODUNDE Festival.

Assistant Professor Akosua Adoma Owusu speaks with Dr. Montre Missouri of Parallel Film Collective

recently participated on the selection committee and was invited by the 6th edition of Sharjah Film Flatform (SFP) in the United Arab Emirates to speak about the work of the late Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye titled The Cinema of Safi Faye: Colonial Legacies, Exile and (Be)longing. Professor Owusu was in conversation with Yasmine Price, a writer, programmer, and PhD candidate in the departments of African American Studies and Film & Media Studies at Yale University.

worked as the Chief Lighting Technician (Gaffer) on short film, 'Sin Luces', directed by Dr. Shah Shafiani.

Nandigama also worked as the cinematographer on the short film, 'Hormones for Breakfast' and worked as the Director of Photography on 2 PSAs, Bridging Gaps, Recruiting Africa Americans for Covid Clinical Trials. His short fiction script, 'A Slice of Life', is selected for UFVA 2024 Conference.

Our Notable Alumni

is a renowned video artist and cinematographer. His work on Julie Dash's feature film 'Daughters of the Dust' (1991) won "Best Cinematography" at Sundance. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (2019) for "The White Album".

is a cinematographer, producer and director, widely recognized for his work on the 1998 film, 'Belly'. He has won several MTV music video awards for his cinematography work with Beyoncé. Watch his cinematography work in 'Wildcat' (2013) directed by Kahlil Joseph.

is celebrated for his cinematography work on films including 'Selma' and 'A Most Violent Year'. He became the first African American cinematographer to be nominated for an Academy Award for his work on 'Arrival' in 2016. He was also the cinematographer on 'Solo: A Star Wars Story', as well as the Netflix miniseries 'When They See Us'.

Past Events