A film school is a general term for any teaching institution dedicated to teaching budding film students moviemaking, including, but not limited to, producing, screen writing, and film theory.

Normally, hands-on training is offered as one portion of the courseload, for example learning how to use light meters, movie cameras and other types of movie equipment. many schools are connected to existing colleges and universities, most often in art or communication departments. Some are owned privately and not connected to universities, such as technical schools offering associate degrees.

A large number of arguments have taken place for years on the relative necessity of film school in permitting someone to enter the film industry. obviously, examples can be offered from both sides, as directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola graduated from prestigious film schools, whereas Quentin Tarantino had no formal schooling.

The growth of independent digital video and film makers have changed this argument somewhat, since anybody with a couple thousand dollars can shoot their own movie (and some people have done so pretty successfully) with little formal knowledge of the film industry. Thus, it can be claimed that the price of attending a film school could now be even better spent on making a movie.

Others contend that film school is valuable because it permits students to network and meet other people interested in filmmaking, as well as with people who may in the end offer them careers in the movie industry.