The Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) is a film school belonging to Mexico's

Secretariat of Culture The Secretariat of Culture ( es, Secretaría de Cultura), formerly known as the National Council for Culture and Arts ( es, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes or CONACULTA), is a Mexican government agency in charge of the nation's museums ...

. It was founded in 1975 with the aim of providing technical and artistic training for those entering the film industry. The CCC is part of the

International Association of Film and Television Schools The International Association of Film and Television Schools (French: ''Centre international de liaison des écoles de cinéma et de télévision'', CILECT) is the association of the world's major film and television schools.International Federation of Film Archives The International Federation of Film Archives (french: Fédération internationale des archives du film, FIAF) was founded in Paris in 1938 by the Cinémathèque Française, the Reichsfilmarchiv in Berlin, the British Film Institute and the Museum ...

. Recognized as a cutting-edge school in film teaching, it received the Award for Academic Excellence at the Tel Aviv Film School Festival, in Israel, in 2005, and in 2006 the

Golden Ariel The Golden Ariel ( es, Ariel de Oro) is an award that “symbolizes the work of excellence that a member of the film industry has achieved throughout their career and that has contributed to the development and growth of Mexican cinematography”. ...

for its 30 years of educational work and contribution to national cinema. It is one of Mexico's two major film schools, the other being the Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The CCC produces about forty

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s annually, as well as medium and full-length ones. The films include elements of academic work and are made to professional production standards.

Courses

The school has four programs of study: *General Cinema Studies *Cinematographic

Screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, de ...

Course * Film and

Audiovisual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service pr ...

Production *Academic Extension

General Cinema Studies

The General Cinema Studies course lasts four and a half years, divided in 9 semesters. The academic plan of the Bachelor's Degree consists of a common core of three semesters, which includes subjects for the teaching of cinematographic language, scenic and narrative expression,

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, o ...

, and

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

, post-production and documentary

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

. After the common core, from the fourth semester, the student can choose to take the following specialties: Directing and

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

Cinematographic Screenwriting Course

The Film Script course lasts two years, divided into four semesters. The objective is to create specialized writers in writing for cinema. The course focuses on screenplay development using basic industry-standard tools and employing narrative and script structure analysis. In the first year, students acquire the bases of the cinematographic language, as well as the basic tools: format, rundown, synopsis, plot, and short film script writing. In the second year, the writing of a feature film script is developed.

Film and Audiovisual Production

The Film and Audiovisual Production course lasts two years, divided into four semesters. It is a more specialized course of the General Cinema Studies. The course focusses on the development of film production and

audiovisual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service pr ...

production. In the first and second semesters, The first and second semesters focus on the history of film production, economy, direction assistance, distribution, production management, and the film industry. The third and fourth semesters focus on accounting,

business planning Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separat ...

TV production A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for t ...

, documentary production, and the legal aspects of the film industry.

Academic Extension

The Department of Academic Extension offers courses, seminars and workshops aimed at all those people who are interested in filmmaking. These courses are held at the CCC in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. Academic Extension also takes these courses to the interior of the Mexican Republic through the Moving Images Program in collaboration with other institutions. The courses taught range from introductory to specialized topics:

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

, directing,

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

, film editing, and appreciation seminars. All are taught by successful filmmakers graduated from CCC or active professors from the same institution

Facilities

The CCC is fully equipped with specialised camera, sound, and lighting equipment, as well as props. It can cater for three groups filming in 16mm, one group in S16mm, one in 35mm, and four in video, simultaneously. The CCC also offers full sound and image post-production facilities, in various professional film and video formats, and has full laboratory, transfer, mixing, and re-recording facilities for students to complete their films. It also has three classrooms equipped with audiovisual equipment for theory classes, three 16 and 35 mm cinemas, two video screening rooms, a stage for film and television production, a fully equipped still photo lab, a production office for student projects, a library, a video library, a film library, an audio library, and a cafeteria. Additionally, the school is equipped with a computer network featuring specialised CGI and production software.

Teachers

The CCC includes industry professionals and prominent filmmakers amongst its staff, including Francisco Athié, Siegfried Barjau,

Carlos Bolado Carlos Bolado Muñoz (born 1964 in Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico) is a Mexican filmmaker. He studied cinematography (CUEC) and sociology both in the same university, the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has worked as a soundma ...

, Christiane Burkhard, Simon Bross, Carlos Carrera,

Felipe Cazals Felipe Cazals (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. His wife was Rosa Eugenia Báez de Cazals. Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative ...

, Nicholas Echeverria, Luis Estrada,

Jorge Fons Jorge Fons Pérez (23 April 1939 – 22 September 2022) was a Mexican film director. He belonged to the first generation of film directors of the UNAM. His short film, ''Caridad'' (1973), is still considered one of the best films in Mexican c ...

, Jose Luis Garcia Agraz, Guillermo Granillo, Henner Hofmann, Toni Khun, Beatriz Novaro,

Maria Novaro María Novaro (born María Luisa Novaro Peñaloza; September 11, 1951, in Mexico City) is a Mexican film director. She was among the first generation of female filmmakers to graduate from a film school in Mexico. She has made five feature films an ...

, Ignacio Ortiz,

Marina Stavenhagen Marina Stavenhagen (born July 16, 1962 in Mexico City) is a Mexican screenwriter, writer, and film director. She is the daughter of anthropologists Rodolfo Stavenhagen and María Eugenia Vargas. Her family arrived in Mexico after escaping Nazi Germ ...

, Alfredo Joskowicz .

Opera Prima

The CCC, supported by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, has in recent years been particularly instrumental in developing a project known as ''Opera Prima'', giving young film-makers, producers, writers, and cinematographers – selected via internal competition – the opportunity to produce their first features and make their débuts. The close involvement of the school's students in the various aspects of the production process, and the opportunity for them to shoot their first film, with institutional support provided by the school, are just some of the features of this project, which bridges the gap between the professional film industry and strictly academic film production. Some of the films that have emerged from the CCC's Opera Prima Project have achieved international recognition, including ''El secreto de Romelia'' by Busi Cortés, ''La mujer de Benjamín'' by Carlos Carrera, ''Lolo'' by Francisco Athié, and ''La orilla de la tierra'' by Ignacio Ortiz.

Notable CCC alumni

More than 30 generations of filmmakers have graduated from the CCC. Among the most notable are: *

Rodrigo Prieto Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC (born November 23, 1965), is a Mexican cinematographer. He has been closely associated as cinematographer for Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu, among other directors. He is a member of both the Mexican ...

* Javier Bourges *

Rodrigo Plá Rodrigo Plá (born 9 June 1968 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan screenwriter and director. He is best known for his 2007 film '' La Zona'' (The Zone). Plá studied photography, screenwriting and direction at the Centro de capacitación c ...

* Carlos Carrera * Elisa Miller * Felipe Fernández del Paso * Gabriel Beristain * Ignacio Ortiz Cruz * Francisco Vargas

References

External links

elccc.com.mx

conaculta.gob.mx

Celebra el CCC 45 años con nuevos objetivos y su inserción en causas sociales

Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, A.C. (CCC) Linked in
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica Film schools in Mexico