01 · Months 1–2
Foundations
Still photography, composition, framing. The language of cinema and visual grammar. You learn to see like a filmmaker before you touch a movie camera.
The One-Year Programme.
Eleven months, full-time, on campus in Chennai. You enter knowing you love film. You leave a complete filmmaker, with six finished films and command of every craft.
11Months full-time
6Films you make
4Craft phases
1:3Faculty ratio
Built the way films are made.
02 · Months 3–5
Building blocks
Moving image, continuity, dialogue. Documentary theory and interview craft. Cameras, sound recording and editing software become daily tools in your hands.
03 · Months 6–8
Applied craft
Documentary, music video and ad filmmaking, including AI-assisted production tools, plus advanced post-production. Your highest period of creative output.
04 · Months 9–11
The final film
Write, shoot and complete your 10-minute narrative short, your thesis film, screened in a Qube-equipped theatre and taken into the industry.
You don’t pick a lane. You learn the whole road.
Write. Direct. Shoot. Cut. Most schools graduate a specialist. QURA graduates a filmmaker who understands the entire collaboration, and can step into any role on a set with fluency.
01 · Write
Screenwriting
Structure, story, dialogue.
02 · Direct
Direction
Performance, blocking, vision.
03 · Shoot
Cinematography
Camera, light, lens, colour.
04 · Cut
Editing & post
Assembly, sound, DI, delivery.
You don’t study films here. You make them.
Every student completes six films on professional equipment, each one a step up in scale, craft and ambition.
- 01 · Months 1–2
Photo story
Master composition and visual storytelling through curated still images.
- 02 · Month 3
Continuity exercise
The grammar of filmmaking: cuts, continuity and dialogue scenes.
- 03 · Months 4–5
Interview exercise
Documentary skills: framing, lighting and sound recording.
- 04 · Months 6–7
Documentary film
A complete non-fiction film, from research to final cut.
- 05 · Months 7–8
Music video / ad film
Commercial content using AI-assisted tools and current industry technology.
- 06 · Months 9–11
Final narrative short
Write, direct, shoot and edit your 10-minute thesis film, premiered in a Qube-equipped theatre.
You leave with proof.
- Six completed films. A portfolio made on professional equipment, ending in your 10-minute thesis film.
- Certification. Certified by the Rajalakshmi Group (NAAC A++).
- A network of industry mentors.
- Command of every craft. The all-round command to work on any set.
Questions, answered.
Do I need a film background to apply?
No. Many of our strongest applicants come in self-taught, a phone, a DSLR, an obsession. We teach the craft from foundations up.
Is the programme full-time and on-campus?
Yes. It’s a full-time, on-campus programme in Chennai across our City Campus and the 30-acre Thandalam film city.
I only want to study cinematography, why learn writing, direction and editing too?
Because the best cinematographers understand the whole film. Knowing how a scene is written, directed and cut makes you a sharper collaborator and a more employable professional, and it’s how the masters on our advisory board began. You specialise deeply, but never in isolation.
When does the next batch start?
January 2027. Applications close November 30, 2026, or once the cohort is full, whichever is earlier.
Eleven months that change everything.
Applications for the January 2027 batch are open. Limited cohort, on-campus, Chennai.
30 Nov 2026Deadline
Jan 2027Batch starts