Beijing Film Academy

Beijing Film Academy (BFA; 北京电影学院) is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio and Television Administration, and the Ministry of Education.

The predecessor of the Beijing Film Academy was the Research Institute of Performing Arts of the Central Film Bureau (中央电影局表演艺术研究所) founded in 1950. The institute was renamed the Film School of the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government (中央人民政府文化部电影局电影学校) in 1951. In 1953, the school was renamed Beijing Film School (北京电影学校). In 1956, the school was restructured into Beijing Film Academy.

Established in May 1950, the Beijing Film Academy was first named Performance Art Institution of the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture. During its first year, 38 students enrolled. For the next five years, the school was renamed thrice - Film School of the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture in July 1951, Beijing Film School in March 1953 and finally, Beijing Film Academy on June 1, 1956.

Upon its first establishment, the academy contained 2 schools - the School of Photography and the Animation School with the associated departments and their subsequent specialties. The Screenwriting Department was one of the earliest departments to be established at the academy in 1951.

Gradually, the academy expanded its number of schools and departments. On September 14, 1950, BFA offered its first undergraduate course in performing arts. The course attracted a class of 30 students, many of whom were notable figures in film and television. Due to its success, BFA established the Performance Institute in June 1956. In 1952, BFA offered its first programs in sound recording. The Department of Sound Recording was officially founded in 1959. The Department of Sound Recording continued to grow throughout the years. In 1960, BFA's Department of Sound Recording and the School of Engineering were joined. BFA began offering a two-year course in film and television production management in September 1955. Although the first class only graduated 28 students, the popularity of the course grew, and a Department of Management was formally established in 1987.

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution brought hardships for schools throughout the People's Republic of China. BFA was equally affected; many of its professors left the academy. However, in the beginning of 1976, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, many faculty members returned to BFA. By 1977, the academy had recovered from the Cultural Revolution. Finally, in 1978, the academy allowed new students to apply.

In 1989, the International School of the Academy was set up, along with the Information Research Center in October 1999.

Individual departments have also developed recently. Major development of the screenwriting department was the establishment of a postgraduate course with master's degree in Screenwriting in 1985, followed by the construction of the undergraduate program on Film Theories in 1987. Further postgraduate courses for Ph.D. students in Screenwriting were set up in 2004.