A film school is a standard word for pretty well any educational institution dedicated to training budding artists in movie making, including, but not just, film theory, screenwriting, and production techniques.

For the most part, hands on technical training is offered as part of the curriculum, like finding out how to use cameras, light meters and other types of film making equipment. Most schools are a part of existing colleges and universities, often in art or communication faculties. Some are private and not connected to universities, for example technical schools offering associate degrees.

Various debates have taken place over the years on the relative importance of film school in allowing one to become a part of the film sector. naturally, there are examples on both sides, as famous directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola graduated from well-known film schools, but Quentin Tarantino had no formal schooling.

The recent rise of independent digital video and filmmakers have changed this argument a bit, since anyone with a few thousand dollars can shoot a movie (and some people have done it very successfully) with little formal schooling in the industry. Hence, it can be debated that the prices of attending a film school might now be better spent on making a movie.

Others contend that film school is crucial because it permits students to network and connect with other people interested in the business, as well as with those who are able to eventually offer them careers in the sector.