By Lookout Staff

September 4, 2025 -- For the second year in a row, Santa Monica College (SMC) was named by MovieMaker Magazine among the top 30 film schools in the U.S. and Canada.

The prestigious movie trade quarterly recognized SMC as “one of the most affordable options for learning the ropes while studying near the epicenter of the entertainment industry.”

SMC, which made the magazine's top 40 list in 2022, joined such schools as AFI Conservatory,

Columbia University, New York University, UCLA, USC, and Vancouver Film School. MovieMaker signaled out Salvador Carrasco, who heads SMC's film production program, saying he "extols the mantra that no student should be denied an opportunity because of socioeconomic background.”

The publication noted that the students' work "is so professional that three SMC films recently played the Oscar-qualifying L.A. Shorts International Film Festival.”

SMC offers two-year film studies and film production programs that enable students to focus on scholarly theory or filmmaking, school officials said.

"Students receive instruction in all facets of preproduction, production, and postproduction from faculty who are actively working in the film industry," officials said.

“We are delighted to have once again been ranked as one of the best film schools in North America by such a prestigious, well-respected institution as MovieMaker magazine,” Carasco said.

"Our faculty are actively teaching, challenging, and helping our students achieve what they set out to do with on-set professional guidance and mentorship.

"Students should be able to receive the highest-quality filmmaking education without having to incur financial debt for years, if not decades to come," Carasco said.

Since the program was launched in 2010, SMC student films have won awards at numerous regional, national and international film festivals.

In the last ten years, eight SMC student films have been selected for the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the American Pavilion during the Cannes Film Festival.

SMC offers an Associate of Science degree and Certificate of Achievement in Film Production. To learn more, visit smc.edu/ or email Carrasco_Salvador@smc.edu.