Stony Brook Celebrates Dual Milestones: 10 Years of its MFA in Film and 30 Years of Killer Films

Film industry dignitaries and the greater Stony Brook University community recently gathered at the Stony Brook Manhattan Center for Creative Writing and Film to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Stony Brook MFA in Film program alongside MFA Artistic Director Christine Vachon, co-founder of Killer Films, on the legendary independent production company's 30th anniversary.

University and industry leadership, faculty and students spanning from the inaugural class to the incoming Fall 2026 cohort packed the standing-room-only, film set-designed creative space. The event was a celebration of visual storytelling: sizzle reels and trailers of thesis films screened in the back, behind-the-scenes production photos projected in the center and a step-and-repeat up front captured interviews and photographs of the attendees.

MFA in Film Associate Chair Magdalene Brandeis hosted and emceed the evening. She welcomed guests and extended thanks to Stony Brook leadership, including Carl Lejuez, executive vice president and provost; Celia Marshik, dean of the Graduate School and professor of English; and Julie Sheehan, associate professor and chair of the Department of Creative Writing, Film and Television; and introduced David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of history.

Wrobel formally welcomed the Film and Television MFAs into the newly formed Department of Creative Writing, Film and Television within the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Integrating the Film and Television MFAs into our new Department of Creative Writing, Film and Television marks a bold new chapter for the arts at Stony Brook and underscores our commitment to nurturing visionary storytellers," Wrobel said. "The College and Stony Brook University as a whole are deeply committed to this innovative and highly creative program. I can't begin to describe how impressed I am by the quality of this brilliant program - built by working filmmakers, including those in Killer Films - one of the most influential independent production companies in American cinema, at the top of their game."

In closing, Wrobel congratulated Christine Vachon and the film program on their respective anniversary milestones.

Brandeis then introduced film industry stalwart John Sloss, whose company, Cinetic Media, has financed more than 300 indie films - including 10 with Killer Films, such as I'm Not There, Far From Heaven, and the Academy Award-winning Boys Don't Cry. Sloss toasted his dear friend Vachon, highlighting her unmatchable career as a producer with more than 100 movies of exceedingly high quality produced in 30 years.

Reflecting on the evening, Vachon remarked on how exciting it has been to build a film program from the ground up. "It is incredibly moving to see students from our very first cohort standing here tonight," Vachon said. "What an opportunity it's been, and I have to thank Magdalene for coming up to me at an event all those years ago to ask if I'd ever want to teach."

Brandeis subsequently revealed the incredible statistics of the film program. In its 10 years as a Manhattan-based MFA program, it has weathered two building moves, a global pandemic, two guild strikes, and two visa bans. Despite these challenges, the program has grown from a summer non-credit startup to an MFA in Film rapidly rising the "Top Film Schools" lists.

During the past 10 years, while Vachon has taught a weekly class and produced 49 more movies, SBU MFA students have consistently emulated Killer Films in its productivity and resourcefulness by themselves getting their art made. They have directed, written or produced 14 feature films (domestically and in five different countries/territories); created one feature musical complete with choreography and a soundtrack; produced two feature documentaries and one documentary hybrid; penned more than 70 screenplays; and created endless festival-bound, award-winning short films.

One thesis feature, Something You Should Know About Me, written and directed by former thesis student and alumnus Andy Fidoten, is premiering this June as an Official Selection of the Viewpoints Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Following the screening of a short film commissioned by a recent Masters Recruitment Enrichment Fund Grant, the evening highlighted significant new funding. Jordan Roberts, faculty member in the MFA in Film program, was awarded a Presidential Fast Impact Funding grant of $70,000 for equipment. Additionally, the program secured a DI3 Film Completion Fellowship, which was quickly matched by the Lichtenstein-Reeves Foundation, totaling $20,000 to be awarded to thesis students in the post production home stretch.

The evening was brought full circle by Professor Robert Reeves, founder of the Lichtenstein Center and Lichtenstein-Reeves Endowment Fund, who revisited the remarks he gave at the very first fundraiser for the MFA in Film. Hosted by Dorothy Lichtenstein in 2012 at Roy Lichtenstein's studio, that initial event set the stage for the program's future.

"Since Magdalene, Christine, and I first met for lunch almost 15 years ago, our vision has remained remarkably consistent," Reeves said. "We wanted to redefine the conventional academic approach to filmmaking, to build an inclusive, non-legacy program that would not require students to shoulder a lifetime of debt simply because they had the audacious ambition to make a film. And then we would hire an experienced, in-the-practice faculty to teach students to be well-rounded, self-sufficient, entrepreneurial filmmakers. All these years later, with the help of a very talented, determined team, that's very much what we've done."

"It's no accident that Christine Vachon joined the faculty of Stony Brook's MFA in Film," Sheehan said. "The students who go through our program truly absorb and apply her example of getting work made, against all obstacles. They are the future - the bright future - of independent filmmaking."

In parting, Dylan Leiner of Sony Pictures Classics offered a reflection. "I remember that first evening at Roy's studio 12 years ago and my first visit out East for the master classes," he said. "Launching is one thing, but sustaining is something entirely different. I'm so happy and so proud of you all!"

To learn more about upcoming student screenings, open houses, info sessions or to recommend a prospective student to the MFA in Film program, contact [email protected].