News
School of Film and Animation

Alumni from RIT’s School of Film and Animation are working together to fund a scholarship that honors all of the faculty who helped form the school. The SOFA Founding Faculty Scholarship will be available to students enrolled in programs within SOFA to support their creative endeavors outside of the classroom.

Through its rise in the industry, Apartment D — run by animation graduates Max Lopez ’12, Sean Malony ’12 and Cami Kwan ’15 — has created narrative YouTube series featuring beloved toys such as American Girl, Batman, Hot Wheels, and Monster High.

RIT's School of Film and Animation recently completed a 10,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of its animation complex, equipped with any tool or resource animators need.

Representatives from RIT’s campuses in the U.S., China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo recently gathered in Dubai to increase communication and collaboration around RIT’s academic policies and shared governance model.

Zach Sheikh, a fourth-year game design and development student, is battling a rare cancer for the third time in his young life. As a result of being all too familiar with illness and grief, Sheikh has wished for help creating a game jam to raise awareness for children experiencing loss and serious illnesses, and RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios is partnering with the Dear Jack Foundation to make this wish come true.

RIT's Study Away: LA program took its maiden voyage in the fall as students immersed themselves in the Hollywood filmmaking and entertainment landscape.

When Sarah Mehani landed in Los Angeles in August 2022, her goal was to get more experience and connect with other aspiring filmmakers. She achieved that and more during her time as a rentals intern at AbelCine.

Tayton T. Troidl, a fifth-year film and animation student, received the inaugural award for Best Documentary Student Filmmakers: East Region at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Student Film Awards. The award ceremony celebrates African American, Asian American, Latino, and women student directors.

Tina Cannaday Chapman DaCosta ’04 MS, ’14 MFA is using her parents’ life stories to teach important lessons about diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fall 2022, the director of RIT’s Diversity Theater program released Dear Eleanor, her second short film based on her parents’ lives.

RIT is vying to be the first university to develop and have a game character accepted into the wildly popular online game Dota 2. The character, or courier, in the form of a tiger, was developed in MAGIC Spell Studios by a team of former RIT students and a faculty adviser.

Diane Lee ’24 MFA (film and animation) — who goes by the artist name Diane Catsburrow Linnet — has found comfort at RIT meshing her abilities as a creative writer, storyteller and artist.

The New York Times talks to Tom Gasek, professor in the School of Film and Animation, about the legacy of Jules Bass, who created an animation empire with his business partner, Arthur Rankin Jr.