Akira Kurosawa School of Film
June 6, 2023 2026-09-15 15:30Akira Kurosawa School of Film
Akira Kurosawa School of Film
Step into the world of cinematic excellence at the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film, where the legacy of one of history’s most celebrated filmmakers inspires the next generation of storytellers.
The school equips students with the knowledge, skills and ethical foundation to thrive in today’s landscape of production, distribution and exhibition — and is home to the Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute, founded in 2010 by Carol Burnett.
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routes in — a graduate MFA, and an undergraduate completion degree
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institute within the school: the Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute
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filmed tributes, including Spielberg, Lucas and Scorsese
1989
the year Kurosawa received his Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement
About the Akira Kurosawa School of Film
Whether you are new to filmmaking or already working, the curriculum runs from traditional technique through to the latest advances in pre-production, production and post-production — alongside the history, theory and global practice of cinema.
Students produce work for platforms ranging from film festivals and video games to YouTube and whatever comes next, and the education is enriched throughout by interaction with Hollywood professionals who explain how the industry actually works.
Technique, old and new
Traditional filmmaking technique alongside current pre-production, production and post-production technology.
History and theory
The history, theory and global practices of cinema, not only the mechanics of making a film.
Made for every screen
Work built for film festivals, video games, YouTube and emerging digital frontiers.
Hollywood in the room
Insight into industry practice from the people who work in it.
The Legacy of Akira Kurosawa
Born in Tokyo in 1910, Akira Kurosawa answered a newspaper advertisement for assistant directors in 1930 and made his own directing debut in 1943. It was Rashomon, which took the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1951 and an Academy Award, that opened Japanese cinema to the West.
What followed reshaped filmmaking on both sides of the Pacific. Seven Samurai was remade in the United States as The Magnificent Seven; the lone samurai of Yojimbo became Clint Eastwood’s man with no name; and The Hidden Fortress gave George Lucas the shape of Star Wars. The influence ran both ways — Kurosawa’s love of the Hollywood western in the John Ford tradition is written across his own epics.
He turned Shakespeare into Throne of Blood and Ran, won a second Academy Award for Dersu Uzala in 1975, and received the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1989. He died in 1998.
“I like unformed characters.”Akira Kurosawa, at 72
Faculty
The school is led and taught by scholars alongside working practitioners.
David Desser, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus and Founding Dean · Ph.D. in Cinema Studies from USC; has taught at USC, UCLA, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois.
Vikram Channa
Associate Dean of the school · Head of Production, Asia-Pacific for Warner Bros. Discovery Networks.
Henryk Cymerman, MFA
Professor of cinematography · credits include Star Trek: First Contact.
Alison Marek, MFA
Professor · MFA in the Akira Kurosawa School of Film.A Legacy Recognized Across Cinema
Filmmakers and actors who recorded tributes for the university’s Kurosawa anniversary programs, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese — and Hisao Kurosawa, the director’s son.
Akira Kurosawa 99th Anniversary Tribute
Steven Spielberg greeting
George Lucas greeting
Martin Scorsese greeting
Richard Gere greeting
Oliver Stone greeting
George Takei greeting
Akira Kurosawa 100th Anniversary Memorial Tribute
Hisao Kurosawa greeting
Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute
The undergraduate route into the school.
On March 23, 2010, Emmy Award-winning actress and legendary comedian Carol Burnett joined Anaheim University Vice-President of Academic Affairs Dr. David Nunan in Los Angeles to establish the institute, as a tribute to her daughter Carrie Hamilton.
The institute sits within this school and teaches the Bachelor of Arts in Creative Communications, a completion degree with a concentration in Film and Entertainment: you transfer in the college credit you already hold and study the remaining 60 units here.
Find your voice, and make your mark on film
Talk to an adviser about whether the graduate MFA or the undergraduate completion degree fits where you are now.
