A summer program at SJSU gives novice filmmakers a chance to create a feature at a fraction of the price of NYU or USC

One of the best film schools you’ve never heard of: San Jose State University’s student training facility Spartan Films, which for the last 12 years has led students through summer feature-length filmmaking workshops. As Barnaby Dallas, the coordinator of production at the studio says, “We have something in common with Woody Allen—we’re also always making one film a year.”

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“It’s like a chemistry lab or any other training facility,” says Martinez. “We’re training the kids, with the idea of a real film at the end. It’s safe, but it’s college. You’re supposed to push the envelope.”

“You can fail,” Dallas says.

“Sometimes you do,” Martinez adds.

Dallas explains: “That’s not how we measure our success, anyway. It’s the training and the education the students get that matters. Some of their films play in Cinequest or smaller film fests. But just because some of the films Spartan makes lack that home-run quality, the students still get trained.”