This isn’t a boring Rochester MN film school classroom. This isn’t an overcrowded college laboratory. This is life. Real Life. YOUR LIFE.

A film school in Rochester, Minnesota?  You bet!  Meet FILM CONNECTION, an innovative concept in film schools. We’re the only school in Rochester that gets you working as a film student extern inside an actual Rochester film production company, where you will learn directing, producing, editing, camera, screenwriting or general production as you work with the pros and make valuable connections. In Rochester, Minnesota, the smartest way to break into the film business is to work inside a Rochester film production company as a film extern.

You could spend in excess of 50 thousand dollars, not counting relocation expenses, to go to film school at a film trade school, or you could go to film school in a real Rochester production company for a tiny fraction of that amount. The choice is obvious; our revolutionary film school alternative is the smartest, most cost-efficient way on the market today to get a quality film school education.

To APPLY for our Rochester, Minnesota Film School, click here.

Don’t Spend More on your Film Education if You Don’t Have to

Located in southeast Minnesota and the home of the famed Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota is a town of roughly 100,000 people, about a 90-minute drive from the Twin Cities and about 3 hours from Chicago. Although film schools are scarce in these parts (except for ours, of course), there are several film or television production companies in Rochester, and numerous major movies and television shows have been shot in the area. If you are considering a career in filmmaking as a film director, film producer, film editor, or cameraman–but DON’T want to relocate to New York or Los Angeles–consider Rochester, Minnesota as a great alternative. FILM CONNECTION makes it possible.

Movies filmed in and around the Rochester, Minnesota area include IceBreaker, Terror Overload, D3: The Mighty Ducks and the 1988 documentary You Don’t Have to Die, filmed in Rochester’s own Mayo Clinic. Other major films like Fargo, A Serious Man and A Prairie Home Companion were also shot not far from Rochester, as well as television shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Meet Our Mentors

Adam Weber

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Daniel Lir

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Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs

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Alejandra Huerta

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Daniela Larsen

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Get Real World Film Production Experience in Rochester MN

FILM CONNECTION’s innovative approach to film school education is to place you in a real Rochester production company, where you will work under a working professional who serves as your instructor/mentor. You’ll gain valuable hands-on experience working on real film and video shoots, making vital industry connections along the way.  This is the heart of the FILM CONNECTION approach, and it works. Many of our graduates get permanent jobs.  Come see what our Rochester, Minnesota film school can do for you!

To APPLY click here.

Our Rochester MN Film Industry Mentors Help you Build Real World Connections

Learn the skills you need to take your idea from paper to the big screen.

Real world film education by filmmakers for filmmakers, optimized for today!

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Success stories

Since he started his extern program with Uptone Pictures in Raleigh, NC, Grant Gilbert has been taking…

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Please take the time to read the experiences of one of our own, Korey Hehn of Pineville, OR…

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The Film Connection program provided me with an opportunity to "see it and believe it"!…

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