A community film school on the Oregon coast. For everyone.
The APS Film School is a year-round filmmaking education program rooted in Astoria and open to the entire community. High school students. Working adults. Complete beginners. Experienced creators. People who have always wanted to make something and never had the tools, the time, or the right room to try.
We will eventually run three tracks: a youth program developed in partnership with Astoria High School; an adult and continuing education program developed in partnership with Clatsop Community College; a workshop series developed in collaboration with the Oregon Film Museum. All tracks feed into the same community: a growing network of local filmmakers, storytellers, and people who take moving images seriously.
The Film School and the festival are designed to work together. Student and community work made in the Film School has a home at the Astoria Picture Show each October. The festival brings in filmmakers and educators who feed back into the school. It’s a loop, not a ladder.
Our Partners
Clatsop Community College
Our adult and community track is developed in partnership with Clatsop Community College, integrating with the college’s continuing education and workforce development programs. Classes and workshops are available to community members (ages 16+) of all backgrounds, with CCC providing infrastructure and APS providing curriculum and instructors.
Astoria High School
Our youth track is developed and delivered in partnership with Astoria High School — enabling AHS students to access curriculum, instruction, and a direct pathway to the festival. The school provides the students, some equipment, and the space; APS brings the expertise and the opportunities.
Oregon Film Museum
Our community workshop track is developed and delivered in partnership with the Oregon Film Museum — providing stand-alone workshops and instruction on a myriad of subjects.
What the Film School Believes
The best way to learn filmmaking is to make films. Not to study films, not to watch lectures about films, not to take quizzes about films — to make them. Everything we do in the Film School is organized around production: planning it, doing it, finishing it, showing it.
We also believe that filmmaking education shouldn’t be a luxury. The APS Film School is free or heavily subsidized for young people. Adult programming is priced to be accessible. We’re not here to serve people who already have access — we’re here to extend it.
