A film school is a common term for pretty well any school designed for training budding artists in moviemaking, including, but not only, screen writing, film theory, and producing films.

Generally, hands-on training is incorporated as a portion of the courseload, such as learning how to use cameras, light meters and other kinds of movie resources. Most schools are a part of pre-existing colleges and universities, usually in art or communication faculties. Some of them are private and not linked to universities, for instance technical schools furnishing associate diplomas.

Multiple debates have raged over the years on the relative necessity of film school in allowing one to get into the film sector. naturally, there are examples on both sides, as famous directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola graduated from prestigious film schools, on the other hand Quentin Tarantino had no formal film schooling.

The boost of independent filmmaking and digital video have altered this debate a bit, as anyone with a couple thousand dollars can shoot their own movie (and some have done so) with very little formal knowledge of the industry. Therefore, it might be argued that the cost of attending a film school might now be best invested in producing a film.

Others debate that film training is important because it helps students to network and connect with others involved in films, as well as with people who will eventually offer them careers in the film business.