For local filmmaker Ty Atiyeh, filmmaking is about much more than “lights, camera, action.”
Since moving to Tucson in 2015, Atiyeh has immersed himself in the city’s underground film scene. Along the way, he connected with Southern Arizona Film Society organizer Francisco Landin Jr.
In 2024, Francisco Landin launched SoAZFilm Academy, which is now spearheaded by Atiyeh. The program is designed to give emerging filmmakers hands-on experience with the tools and techniques used to make films.
“What we're doing is we're partnering with local businesses and we are reaching out to emerging filmmakers, student filmmakers, filmmakers who are new or they want to learn more about what it is to actually produce on location,” Landin Jr. said.
Atiyeh developed the academy’s curriculum and secured about $10,000 in funding from the Arts Foundation of Southern Arizona. The money covers six courses, but not the program’s first workshops on Aug. 24 and 25, as that was scheduled close to the Southern Arizona Film Society’s second anniversary party.
The first workshop brought 17 students, ages 16 and older, to Brick Box Brewery in downtown Tucson.
Their assignment was to film the brewery’s owner, Jim Owens, and interview him about the building, which is currently listed for sale.
Atiyeh divided the class into smaller groups and walked students through the fundamentals of filming on location — from lighting and gear to staging and interviewing.
The next day, students returned to the brewery for a different kind of exercise.
This time, Atiyeh taught them how to film a “walk and talk,” following Owens as he moved through the space.
The remaining six classes will combine online and in-person instruction, making the academy accessible to students who may not be able to attend every session in person.
But the workshops are building toward something bigger.
By next February, students will work on a short film that will premiere at the 2027 Nogales Film Festival, where it is expected to be projected onto the border wall.
Landin Jr. says the academy is also meant to create opportunities for students beyond the classroom.
“Through these workshops, if you need help with your own film, we can also use the workshops to help with other people's films,” Landin Jr. said. “All of our volunteers, interns, any student that goes here – if they make their own film, we're not only projecting films at the Nogales Film Festival, they get to submit it at no cost.”
The response so far suggests there is an audience for that kind of opportunity.
Atiyeh said about 40 people reached out to the Southern Arizona Film Society about attending. He wants the lessons to remain available even after the academy ends.
His plan is to archive the workshops online so future filmmakers can use them as a resource.
“That's the point. The internet is a beautiful thing. Everyone's going to be able to access this now and in the future,” Atiyeh said. “I'm going to make this basically just a whole bag of materials that people can access whenever they want.”
