India has some of the best universities and colleges in the world. Besides acclaimed engineering, medical, and business schools, India is also home to some excellent film schools.

Some are diploma schools, others are fully accredited universities awarding degrees, and some are specific work training institutions. The best film schools in India provide the training necessary for a successful career in Film, TV, and other Media.

Film schools in India are generally open to international students and provide a high quality education for international and local students. Courses are often multilingual. Ok, lets get stuck in!

Top 17 Best Film Schools In India To Become a Master!

Film and Television Institute of India, also known as FTII, is located in Pune and was established in 1960. The city of Pune is home to so many universities and higher learning centers that it is sometimes called the Oxford of the East.

Portions of the FMII are located on the studio grounds of the former Prabhat Film Company that was first opened for business in 1929. The studio grounds were declared an Indian national heritage site.

One of the top rated of all schools in India of any type, it is also very highly rated internationally as a film school. Many commercially successful and award winning artists have received their degree from the Film and Television Institute of India, including several world renown film directors.

One of the primary aims of the post graduate education provided here is directing. Since its founding, the school has aimed to educate aspiring directors in all the disciplines of filmmaking. The idea is that a director needs to know about the entire filmmaking project in order to be fully capable of taking the reigns of control for a film or television project.

Subjects taught include film direction, editing, cinematography, audiography, acting, art direction, computer graphics, animation, feature film scriptwriting, electronic cinematography, and video editing.

FTII is a member of CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision), also known as International Association of Film and Television Schools. CILECT is an international coalition of Film schools that was founded in 1955 at Cannes, France, home of several international major film festivals.

The purpose of CILECT is to create and refine better filmmaking education by sharing ideas, resources, and sometimes even programs across the film schools.

In Kolkata, West Bengal since 1995, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute offers post graduate studies for film students. It is one of the largest stand alone film schools in the world.

Also a member of CILECT, post graduate programs are offered in direction in screenplay, audiography, editing, and cinematography. Writing, producing, sound engineering, and animation are also taught in relation to and as extra studies to the main programs. Tis provides an essential knowledge of these disciplines so graduates can be fully capable in their filmmaking careers.

In Mumbai since 2006, it was opened in cooperation with the Australian Film, Radio, and Television School and offers diplomas and Bachelors degrees.

Completely equipped with state of the art Sony Media equipment, WWI provides a full education in almost all aspects of modern filmmaking and TV. Courses include Acting, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Business of Film & Television, Sound Recording, Design and Music Production, Animation, and Screenwriting.

A mix of classroom and hands on training in a real work environment makes the education received valuable for filmmakers of all genres and styles.

Whistling Woods International is consistently rated as one of the top film schools worldwide.

Since 2010, ICE has been providing world class quality education for such things as media & entertainment. This includes aspects such as acting, modelling, scriptwriting, vfx, editing, directing, production, cinematography plus more to their aspiring students.

The ICE Institute is also working in partnership with Balaji Telefilms so their emphasis on quality education with industry experts is paramount.

Also at ICE, there is a high degree of care and emphasis that has been applied to their course curriculum. This curriculum has been designed by industry leaders to insure that that subject matter is taught in a highly engaging and practical manner.

ICE also offers courses in full time and part time modules.

Located in India’s Noida Film City in the National Capital Region since 1991, this school has one of the busiest work programs of any film school anywhere. Students from over 100 countries can be assigned to hands on work projects in a lot of different disciplines because the school is associated with over 4500 TV programs and 120 feature films.

AAFT has several different types and lengths of programs of instruction. After graduation, a group of school advisors continues to help former students with job placement and furthering filmmaking education.

A part of the Asian School of Media Studies, courses and programs are offered in the areas of Cinema, Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, Fine and Performing Arts, Animation, and Fashion.

A relatively new school for filmmakers, the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy has campuses in three cities, with the main one in Chennai.

The legacy of famed director, producer, actor, director, and cinematographer LV Prasad, one of the most active and successful of the pioneering filmmakers in India, this internationally acclaimed school has courses in direction, cinematography, editing, sound, and music production.

Practical training in principles, processes, tools, and techniques is accomplished by lots of hands on work in the movie and TV field. Being on the location of Prasad Studios, with film and TV studios, allows students to be trained by working professionals in various fields.

Established in 1961 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, this film school offers Bachelors and Masters degrees and PhD’s in various fields of cinema and TV studies. It enjoys an academic exchange relationship with various other international film schools and universities worldwide.

It also offers online educations, but not for their degree programs.

In all their study programs, a mix of classroom and hands on work delivers a superior education. Thinking about also studying photography? If you are, you must check out my list on the best Indian photography schools to study at!

Established in Mumbai in 2002, the Digital Academy offers graduate and postgraduate degree programs in collaboration with Mumbai University and the University of Westminster in the UK, which is also affiliated with the Westminster International University in Uzbekistan, making this a truly international school collaboration.

Degrees are offered in Acting, Film Making, Film and Television Direction, Film and Television Editing, Sound Recording and Engineering, Cinematography, and Screenplay Writing. The professors are working professionals from all fields of the film making arts.

For Indian students, it also offers post film school graduation placement and guidance services.

Also known as ZIMA, this is a working school run by a film and studio association, so many graduates go straight into working as professionals in their chosen discipline. Located in Mumbai, it has Bachelors degree programs in many of the film making professions.

Courses available include Film Making, Direction, Cinematography, Audio Engineering, Editing, Acting, Screenwriting, Film and TV Production, TV Journalism, and even Artificial Intelligence.

Besides the full time school degree programs, there are workshops conducted regularly with alumni that are leaders in their professions.

A one year film school in Delhi, the Matrikas Film School prepares students by means of workshops and real world experience to be competitive in the fast paced world of international cinema arts.

Concentrating on the practical aspects of film making allows for students to concentrate on their craft along with getting real knowledge of the workings of filmmaking.

Also known as the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, this one of the oldest film schools in India, founded in 1945 in Chennai.

Offers Bachelor degree programs in Screenplay and Direction, Cinematography, Sound Recording and Sound Engineering, Film Editing and Film Processing, and various other subjects including government administration.

A prestigious film and acting school, Queen Elizabeth II has visited during filming projects. Many noted professionals have come from this school, leading in various fields of film making and Television.

Operating since 2001 as one of the leading film schools in India, the Mumbai Film Academy is internationally recognized in subjects such as Filmmaking and Direction, Cinematography and Lighting, Film and Video Editing, Sound Design and Recording, Writing, Visual FX, and Acting.

It also includes courses in the business of film production and distribution.

Established in 1990 in Kolkata, this school can rightly brag on its website about having students working all over, because it does have graduates in all aspects of filmmaking and TV in positions all over India and in countries throughout the world.

Diplomas are available in the subjects of Film Direction, Acting, Camera Operation, Videology, Film and Non Linear Editing, Screenplay Writing, and Sound Recording & Editing.

In Chennai since 2002, this school offers Bachelors and postgraduate degrees in Direction, Visual FX, Animation, and other cinema and TV arts.

Part of Alantech Entertainment, students receive a real word education in the various disciplines needed to excel in this business.

Established 1982 in New Delhi, this fine film school has graduate and postgraduate programs as well as shorter diploma programs.

Courses include Mass Communication, Convergent Journalism, Development Communication, Visual Effects and Animation, and Broadcast Technology.

The Centre collaborates with ties with the University of York in Toronto, University of Westminster in London, and Sciences Po in Paris.

In Hyderabad since 2011, it offers courses in acting, directing, cinematography, editing, writing, and producing. Affiliated with Annapurna Studios, graduates find employment and careers in the industry around the world.

Another fine school with a mix of classroom instruction and hands on real world work on TV and cinema projects.

An accredited university since 1997 in Haryana, it has degree programs for Bachelors, Masters, PhD’s in multiple disciplines of business, engineering, robotics, and biotechnology.

As a fully accredited university, their degrees in the sciences and business can relate to filmmaking in various ways. A business degree will aid in film producing and marketing. A science degree can translate over to any number of technical and creative endeavors.

For many Westerners, Indian film immediately brings up thoughts of Bollywood. Bollywood is an outstanding example of motion picture entertainment. Film in India covers all genres and aspects of TV, Cinema, and other Media including Gaming.

In Delhi since 2009, this school has courses in a lot of art disciplines besides specific filmmaking disciplines.

The teaching environment is superb, with one of the lowest student to teacher ratios of any film school in the world. Subjects taught include film direction, cinematography, sound recording, editing, and script writing.

Other subjects offered are acting and modeling, TV journalism, radio jockey, photography, documentary filmmaking, public relations, English journalism, electronic music production, digital marketing, YouTube filmmaking, and even event management and wedding planning.

Filmmakers trained at the Center for Research in Art of Film and Television are fully equipped for a lifelong career in the art of cinema, TV, and other media.