SFTV - Loyola Marymount University

LMU School of Film and Television

At LMU SFTV we cultivate storytellers who use the power of media and entertainment for the greater good. By creating compelling stories of all genres and by leading with integrity, they deepen our understanding of humanity and inspire positive changes in the industry and the world.

In recent years technological changes such as the rise of the internet and the proliferation of mobile devices have transformed film and television. Never before have so many people had access to the tools for making visual stories and the platforms on which to share them. We give our students the tools and knowledge they need to lead successful careers in a fast-changing industry through an emphasis on hands-on learning combined with a rigorous liberal arts education and close mentorship from faculty.

As we thrive through evolutions in technique and technology, one truth remains: Visual stories have tremendous power to inspire and influence people. At our core, LMU SFTV supports the creation of compelling stories that embrace the full range of the human experience—now and always.

Movie Mondays at the Mayer

Our students learn their craft by watching works for the screen and dissecting their content, context, and impact. SFTV’s popular Monday night screenings—open to all students at LMU—bring first-run films and TV shows to campus before they have their premieres. Screenings are often followed by question-and-answer sessions with the writers, directors, and producers behind these projects, which help students understand how to navigate the many obstacles that creative professionals face in their careers.

SFTV in Conversation: Learning Outside the Classroom

Each semester we invite leading creative and industry professionals to our campus to take part in panel discussions, workshops, and other activities with faculty to enhance students’ knowledge of visual storytelling and to help them understand how to get their projects made and seen.

Study Abroad in Bonn, Budapest, or Bologna

Our programs in Europe give students the chance to absorb new cultures while developing their knowledge of visual storytelling. Each program has a different focus:

Students in Bonn, Germany, study international documentary filmmaking
Students in Budapest, Hungary, study screenwriting with Hungarian and international students
Students in Bologna, Italy, have the chance to attend the world’s largest and most prestigious annual festival for film restoration, Il Cinema Ritrovato

Meet the Dean

Peggy Rajski, Dean of the LMU School of Film and Television

Peggy Rajski is an Academy-Award winning filmmaker, the founder of the groundbreaking nonprofit The Trevor Project, and spent eight years leading the Graduate Film Producing Track at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. This uncommon combination of filmmaking acumen, advocacy, and academic rigor make her uniquely prepared to lead SFTV.

Rajski won an Academy Award in 1995 for Best Live Action Short with her directorial debut, the short film TREVOR, a poignant comedy about a young teen whose world is turned upside down when word spreads at school that he might be gay. In 1998, the film secured a special presentation on HBO hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, the same year DeGeneres herself came out as gay. Anticipating the response her film could receive as a result of this publicity, Rajski recognized an exceptional opportunity to address one of the greatest mental health crises in the country—the high rate of suicide among LGBTQ+ youth. In just a few weeks' time prior to the film's airing, she founded the groundbreaking non-profit The Trevor Project, America's first 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth. More than twenty years later, The Trevor Project is still the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization devoted to LGBTQ+ youth, and Rajski continues her service as founder and member of the organization's Board of Directors.

Rajski's work on TREVOR led the Academy's Short Film and Animation Branch to recognize her as a Live Action Icon in 2014. The film was recently added to MoMA's permanent collection and is currently being adapted as a stage musical.

Rajski began producing films during the emergence of the Independent Film movement in the 1980s. Her many credits include three of writer/director John Sayles' early films: THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, MATEWAN, and EIGHT MEN OUT, as well as Stephen Frears' film noir classic THE GRIFTERS, which she co-produced with Martin Scorsese. The film received four Academy Award nominations and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. After meeting Jodie Foster while serving on the Sundance Film Festival jury together, Rajski produced her directorial debut LITTLE MAN TATE as well as her second film, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Rajski is a longstanding member of the Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). She has served on multiple committees for the Academy, including Institutional Grants, the Student Academy Awards, and has been a judge for the Academy's Nicholls Fellowship for Screenwriters for more than a decade.