About Us

Cinematic Arts provides centralized coordination among the various Duke University departments and programs that provide classes, activities, and opportunities for students interested in film studies and moving image practice.

Today, the creation and interpretation of moving images has become central to the ways we experience and understand the world. The moving image now exists, alongside writing and the production of still images, as one of the primary means of communicating ideas and exploring the entire range of human activities. There is nothing that it does not touch!

Cinematic Arts faculty offer film studies courses from a global perspective, while Screen Society, our film exhibition program, makes available a range of historical and new works in a variety of genres and modes, from different national traditions.

Through production courses and our Filmcraft workshops, students can gain expertise in a wide range of technologies, from analog film production and cel animation to digital production, motion graphics, and 3-D animation. These classes take advantage of the cutting-edge facilities in the Rubenstein Arts Center, including equipment cage, sound stage, editing lab, and archival film theater. The Legacy Lab, located in the Smith Warehouse, maintains older and legacy equipment for creative production.

Students also have the opportunity to gain professional experience in related industries through internships and the Duke in Los Angeles and Duke in New York Programs, while the Duke Entertainment Media Arts Network connects students with careers and alumni in the field.