Attention cinema lovers: a new certificate is being introduced at Saint Louis University.

Beginning this fall, a Film Studies certificate program will give students the opportunity to explore all aspects of the world of cinema.

“Film is already a century old,” said Jean-Louis Pautrot, Ph.D., director of the Film Studies certificate. “There are a lot of departments that are having film classes. We put these classes together to form this program.”

The Film Studies certificate is an 18-hour certificate program in the College of Arts and Sciences. It is open to students of all majors. This program offers students an education on film related to its many aspects, such as fine and performing arts, communication, contemporary criticism, history, languages and cultures.

The goal of the program is to help students gain a solid knowledge of film history and analysis.

Many interested students attended an information meeting that was held Tuesday, April 3.

“I’m interested in production and the making of films,” said SLU student Sean Cohen. “I’m here to see what it’s about.”

The 18-hour program has six required hours, and students can chose two of the three courses offered: Approaching the Arts – Art and Film, Film Criticism or Literature and Film.

Nine hours can be selected from a variety of film classes within the Communication, English, History, French, German, Italian and Spanish departments. A final capstone class will be taken during the last semester and includes either Film Aesthetics or Contemporary Film Theory.

Students in this program must achieve and maintain a 3.0 GPA in the film studies courses.

A certificate in film studies can benefit any student, especially in careers related to media studies, fine and performing arts, advertising or entertainment.

“We would like to turn this program into a major in the future,” Pautrot said. “Webster University and Washington University are two local universities that already have a Film Studies program.”

Pautrot hopes to hold more information sessions in the fall. Anyone interested in the program can call Pautrot at 977-2456 or e-mail [email protected].