Here is the personal statement of a student who made it to the New York Film Academy in the filmmaking program.

I want to emphasize that you must be honest in writing your personal statements. If you borrow content from other places, refer to them in your personal statement. Admissions officers in the US read many essays each year and can easily detect plagiarism.

Sample Personal Statement in Film Making

While many around me associate their life with a roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs, my life experience has been quite the opposite. Instead, my life has been characterized by constants and calms that have made me think I was born with a certain degree of “unusualness.”

Growing up in a complex family with literally a dozen siblings and two stepmothers, my life sounded like a tragedy to my school friends. Nevertheless, I don’t remember a day when I was any less proud of being born to my father. I remember my father reading this poem a lot to me when I was young.

‘Said the coo what shall I do, I have family of two

Said the hen my family is of ten, But we live like gentlemen’

As I matured, my perspective on things evolved. The ‘unusualness’ of my life has allowed me to view things the way a moviegoer views a film, that is, by paying attention to the little nuances in the movie. Whether listening to indie rock music or interpreting the cues of a film director, I have always paid attention to the subtleties.
Since childhood, I have developed a strong relationship with our car driver. He was my guardian who played a defining role in my upbringing. From braiding my hair to dropping me off at school to watching cartoons, he defined my childhood while my parent’s complicated relationship unraveled. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was roughly 10. By then, no one had counseled me on what death meant. I never really asked where he had gone; instead, as a teenager, I tried to imagine him as I grew up. At this time, I began writing my first screenplay, addressed to him every night.

Aside from writing my screenplay, the other constant in my life was changing from one field to another to find my passion. I made it into basketball, gymnastics team, declamation, and theatre play at school. However, I was never a standout in any of them until my senior year at school. During that year, I became a popular and influential figure, leading various social events such as concerts and charities. And then, after high school, at 18, enrolling in a film school completely changed my life.

I am a nonconformist, too bold to surrender to prevailing traditions. I believe that change can only be triggered by challenging societal norms. To be successful in this, one must coax others by showing that what was once considered wrong can be right and that what was previously thought impossible can be made possible. Throughout my life, I have followed such a path and have proved myself in everything I have pursued. Each step forward has required a leap of faith, and one of the biggest leaps I took was earning a B.A. (Hons.) in Theater, Film, and Television. Unlike many of my peers and classmates, I was not initially passionate about studying or making films. Filmmaking found me by accident, and that’s probably my favorite part of fate.

I made my first documentary when I was in grade nine, and I won an inter-school competition for it. This was my first time feeling above average, and then I became habitual of feeling like this when I joined college. I had initially planned to study journalism and present facts and figures, but the film took me over with magic.

My love for watching documentaries grew over my love of watching news channels, and before I could sense it, I began to look at stories as potential subjects for filmmaking. Every dialogue I heard had to fit into a genre, and every narrative treatment made me wonder which film movement would suit me best. While I was able to gain experience in a variety of roles through my extensive degree in Theater, Film, and TV, I never fully had the opportunity to explore my passion for writing narratives. At college, I grew not only as a student but also as a person. My leadership skills were consistently recognized and appreciated by my teachers, who often chose me to assist them in leading groups for various assignments. College gave me courage, grew my self-esteem, and nourished my sense of cinema.

Henceforth, I became bold enough to take up another challenge by stepping out of my comfort zone, which is direction, and pursue screenwriting. I was one of the top 3 students in my Dramaturgy, Writing for Screen, and Creative Writing classes, which gave me confidence that I could pen narratives. I also directed a few films, one of which was selected in the Top 20 Peace category at the 60siff festival. Another was displayed at the Aks Film Festival and was selected for the Shanghai Pride festival. I also directed and scripted a theatre play called “Teesri Dhun,” which was invited for performance after its three-day success at Yale University.

I remember the first day I printed my final draft of ‘Katchi.’ I took a picture of the pages and messaged my friend: “I’ve never delivered a baby, but I know I am as happy.” The subject’s confinement and its execution were not only something I did out of sheer passion but also out of a sense of responsibility. I had previously worked on a docu-drama theatre play on transgenders, where I assisted the directors with scripting. After a three-day success in Singapore, I thought I was done with my efforts for ‘TeesriDhun – The third tune’ until I went nuts deciding what I wanted to direct as my thesis short film. Glossing over ideas that were too big to be projected under those deadlines or were not good enough as a major film student, I realized that one of my protagonists from a previous project still had to be told. Anaya, my first transgender friend, was someone I wanted to talk about. A few critiques began questioning my love for indie filmmaking, which I had been loyal to for so long after choosing a ‘social issue’ just because of its stereotype of selling out.

Nevertheless, I advanced with my gut feeling and created a short film. Honestly, the contentment never lay in the final product, but it was in the process I had gone through. Every meeting with the supervisor, with the crew, and auditions with the actors, secured my belief to be a writer-director. Regardless of the tight scheduling, small budget, and limited resources, I felt the fire in my team and the resolve in my actors. I felt like I was making something that happily absorbed everyone’s best, including myself.

The cinema industry in my country is struggling to revive non-stereotypical subjects. Movies like ‘Inya’ and ‘Kakabila’ were based on a solid storyline and screenplay. They reflected a narrative and visual display complimenting each other and proved that it was time to revolutionize cinema with some realistic aesthetics and logical motives. On the other hand, documentaries like ‘Girl in the river’ and ‘Saving face’ applauded the dark tragedies to be unveiled and helped change obsolete perspectives.

I aim to pen down unconventional but realistic stories based on our social, cultural, and historical paradigms. I want to redefine my horizons. I want to prove that this is not only an entertainment business but also a learning and teaching medium with no limit to expression. I wish to change viewpoints so that people can look at ordinary things in an extraordinary manner, which is impossible without the superior skills I want to acquire through academic excellence.

For the past year, I have been working in a filmmaking agency where I have learned to professionally edit, mood board, storyboard, and handle clientele. Overall, my degree has taught me the theory and its implementation in a professional setting. In contrast, my job has taught me how to handle the extreme pressure and enhance my leadership and communication skills. My experiences have instilled in me the confidence to become a good director, but I want to give voice to what is hidden inside me. My sensitive observation and thorough understanding, along with the audacity to present my revolutionary thoughts, demands me to direct something more than just “hotchpotch of glamour” screening big names and exotic locations. I want to make a film with a sensible story and convincing plot to which people can relate. That’s how I want to contribute towards the revival of cinema and give it a new horizon of success that will be counted amongst the best international cinemas.

Therefore, NYFA is the best place for me, as it teaches the art of screenwriting and gives an in-depth film and screenplay/script analysis, providing insights that act as the Achilles heel for real-life projects. Moreover, an introduction to WGA format and copyright law equips the students with the tools helping them to meet international standards. A writer and a director must understand the dynamics of acting to put themselves in the actor’s shoes and carve a realistic character. Hence courses on fundamentals of acting and character development skills are eminent and a unique feature of NYFA. Considering all these factors, I can say that NYFA is the right place for me to become a writer who will be distinct in their thoughts and actions.