About Us
The CMU Filmmaking Club, founded in 1994, is a student organization of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. The mission of the organization is to produce and promote student filmmaking, both at Carnegie Mellon and in the greater community. Each semester, the club generally produces at least one short film or video project, which utilizes the technical and creative abilities of its members. There is also usually at least one “improv” shoot at the beginning of each semester, where small teams work to create a short narrative video in a few hours; this activity allows new members to get acquainted with the basics of our equipment and is always a lot of fun.
Every year during the Spring semester, the Film Club organizes a film festival that showcases the work of student filmmakers. Submissions are solicited from both local universities in the Pittsburgh area and from institutions and individuals around the nation. Several years ago, this film festival experienced a bit of a hiatus, but over the past two years it has been growing and improving annually, and this year we expect it to be bigger and better than ever! Currently known as Rack Focus, the festival will be in its 16th year this coming April 24, 2009, and our goal is to turn it into as national an event as possible. The outdoor venue this year has been selected to facilitate a “bike-in” style of viewing. More information about the festival and submissions can be found here. For a full listing of Film Club events, see our calendar.
Lastly, we encourage any students at CMU who are interested in filmmaking, the student film festival, or any other related activities to consider joining the club. At the very least, feel free to drop in on one of our meetings, which are usually held every Friday at 5:30pm at our offices on Margaret Morrison Plaza 1 (see map & streetview by Google Maps below). Don’t be shy — we love new members!