In-Person and Virtual SCA Graduate Information Session

January 1, 2025 - December 24, 2025, Varies

SCA Courtyard and Online

Join the SCA Admissions staff for an in-person or an online information session to learn more about applying to the SCA graduate programs for the Fall 2025 semester.  Topics will include an overview of the school, programs and facilities, financial aid, Q&A with staff and more!

iMappening 2025

April 24, 2025 - May 1, 2025, 5:00 pm

SCA Soundstage 4 + SCI 106

USC Media Arts + Practice invites you to join us April 24 - May 1 for iMAPPENING 2025, a yearly exhibition of experimental works-in-progress from the interdisciplinary Media Arts + Practice PhD program, including film, video, installation, animation, performance, generative AI, sound, and other media.

SCA VOTES

April 29, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Do you have something to say about the current state of political and current events in the country? Make a short that's 3 minutes or less! All genres and styles are welcome! Films will be screened Tuesday, April 29th at 7pm in the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre.

SATISFACTION

April 30, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Set against the stunning Greek isles, Satisfaction is a nuanced psychological drama that unravels the fragile bond between British composers Lola and Philip. Their relationship lingers in silence as Lola struggles to reclaim her voice. Weaving between their present-day trip to a remote Greek island and the start of their romance at a London music school, the film slowly reveals an unspoken rift. When Lola meets the magnetic Elena on a nudist beach and invites her into their world, tensions escalate, forcing Lola to confront the darkest part of her past.

CTPR 497: Music Video and Commercial Screening

May 2, 2025, 5:30pm

SCA 110

CTPR 497 invites you to their end of semester screening! Come watch Music Videos and Commercials from 5:30-7:30pm on May 2nd.

LUNA LENS FILM FESTIVAL

May 3, 2025 - May 4, 2025, Varied

The Albert & Dana Broccoli Theatre, SCA 112, George Lucas Building Lobby, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Luna Lens Film Festival (@lunalensfilmfest) invites you to join us for screenings of award-winning independent and experimental feature and short films by Asian female and non-binary filmmakers, accompanied by director Q&As and student submission screenings!

TATAMI

May 5, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre, RZC 119, Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, 3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

The first feature film co-directed by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, TATAMI follows Leila, an Iranian judo athlete who is put in political danger when her government tells her to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival in the final. Leila finds herself facing a life-or-death decision that could put the lives of her, her coach, an ex-competitor herself, and her family in danger. In a fight for freedom and dignity, what is she willing to give up.

From The Outside In: MA+P Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition

May 6, 2025 - May 9, 2025, 5:00 pm

SCI 106, SCA Soundstage 3+4, SCA 112 and RZC 119

An exhibition of thesis projects created by senior undergraduate students in the Media Arts + Practice BA program.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

May 6, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

From three-time Oscar®-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Dean DeBlois, the creative visionary behind DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, comes a stunning live-action re-imagining of the film that launched the beloved franchise. On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup (Mason Thames; The Black Phone, For All Mankind) stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his voice role from the animated franchise), Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.

KEMBA: A Special Screening

May 6, 2025, 7:00 PM

SCI 106

Join the SCA Community Impact Council and AACS for a special screening of Kemba: a true story of unjust incarceration and mandatory sentencing laws.

CHINATOWN CHA-CHA

May 7, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

The 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yee decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba and China.

SALLY

May 8, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure, she carried a secret. Revealing the romance and sacrifices of their 27 years together, Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, tells the full story of this complicated and iconic astronaut for the first time. From National Geographic Documentary Films, SALLY is directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Cristina Costantini.

Retirement Party Save the Date

May 9, 2025, 4-6pm

University Club Patio

Save the date for our esteemed colleague's retirement party: Midge Costin, Tom Miller, and Helaine Head

CTPR 310: Intermediate Production - END OF SEMESTER SCREENINGS!

May 11, 2025, 6:30pm-9:30pm

Norris Theater

Join us for the P3 screenings of CTPR 310. Sunday, May 11th in Norris Theater. 

THE LIFE OF CHUCK

May 12, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre, RZC 119, Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, 3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

From the hearts and minds of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan comes THE LIFE OF CHUCK, the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This unforgettable, genre-bending tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

USC Games Expo

May 13, 2025, 4 PM

SCA Complex

USC Games Expo! Come celebrate another year of USC Games!

2025 AVHA 48-hour Virtual Production and Filmmaking Contest (VPFC)

May 16, 2025 - May 18, 2025, May 16 - May 18

Virtual

Interested in Virtual Production? Sign up for this 2025 University 48H Virtual Production Filming Contest!

Beyond the Frame: XA Showcase 2025

May 18, 2025, 1:00PM - 5:00PM

USC Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre

Join us for Beyond the Frame: XA Showcase 2025, a screening and celebration of remarkable projects created by students in the USC Expanded Animation Research + Practice (XA) MFA Thesis class! In addition to these visionary thesis projects, the showcase also includes a curated selection of animation produced by current XA students.

Works created in the XA program span a broad spectrum of genres and techniques, including character and experimental animation, traditional and non-linear narrative, documentary, stop motion, motion capture, VR, 2D, 3D, and handmade animation.

The 60-minute screening begins at 1:00PM in the elegant, state-of-the-art Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre on the USC campus. Following the screening, please join us for a catered reception directly outside the theater in Queen’s Courtyard.

SAY LESS

June 23, 2025, 7:00 P.M.

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

With their parents out of town, the already-fraught relationship between a brother and sister is strained to its breaking point as they vie for control of the house, each inviting over a romantic interest and making cataclysmic discoveries about their parents, and each other, along the way.

CTCS-466: Theatrical Film Symposium Fall 2025

August 28, 2025 - December 11, 2025, 6:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

This Fall 2025 semester, the School of Cinematic Arts will offer a very special course called CTCS-466: Theatrical Film Symposium, a four-unit elective class open for enrollment to ALL USC STUDENTS OF ANY MAJOR that brings you face-to-face with leading film directors, writers, producers, and actors working today. Throughout the semester, students will watch a wide selection of new film releases, followed by exclusive Q&As with the creative teams behind them. The class is taught by film critic LEONARD MALTIN and meets every Thursday night in Norris Cinema Theatre from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.