Alvaro Congosto Martinez

Why did you choose the Film (MFA) program?

I came to the United States as a Fulbright Grantee. I applied to several Film Schools and Boston University seemed to be the best fit for what I was looking for. I wanted a small program where I could be receiving constant feedback of my work from the professors. I wanted a school that could provide me with rigorous technical knowledge and lastly, I wanted a school that could teach me narrative storytelling on film from an independent perspective.

How did your time at COM help prepare you for your life post-COM?

COM provided me with the technical knowledge that I needed in order to work professionally in the industry, but most importantly, it taught me how to use the film language to tell a story. In other words: COM made me a filmmaker.

What have you been up to since you graduated?

After I finished at COM I moved to New York City where I started working as a freelance editor and videographer. In 2013, the Film & TV department contacted me to offer me a film class to teach at COM as an adjunct. Since then I have been coming back and forth between Boston and New York combining both positions. This coming Fall 2017 I will be teaching 3 classes at COM while I will still continue with my freelance work.

Can you talk about your current position? How did you choose it? What makes it exciting?

I wear three different hats on my professional career. I teach Film at COM, I edit and shoot videos for clients, and I make own films. It is not easy to do it all, especially when traveling between two cities, but it is incredibly worthwhile. Teaching forces me to be very clear about my ideas on filmmaking, otherwise it is impossible to communicate them to the students. It is a big responsibility and I constantly try to listen to them as much as they listen to me. It is very rewarding to see their progress in such a short period of time. It also keeps my filmmaking muscle active and I can say that my films have become much stronger since I started teaching.

Working with clients requires a much different mindset, but it helps me to stay connected with the industry and it is a great practical training on visual storytelling under a tight deadline.

What advice would you give to prospective students considering the Film MFA (now Cinema & Media Production MFA) program?

First of all, I think it is important to be very clear about what specific area you are looking to be trained on. Is your dream to work for Pixar? Or do you aspire to be a cinematographer for nature documentaries? There are hundreds of different jobs within the film industry and the more you are able to narrow the path within your field, the more effective your film school choice will be.

Despite of what rankings say, there are no best or worst film schools. But there is probably one school that will suit your needs better than others, so it is very important to know what is it specifically that you are looking for in order to find the school that can provide it.

Then, I would encourage you to do the research and find out if BU will actually provide it. Talk to professors, technicians, current and past students, visit the facilities, etc.

What about students who will soon graduate?
I would encourage you to focus fully on the program and do not worry too much about what will come after. The MFA program is a learning experience and in order to get the most out of it you need to have an open mind, try out things and listen to your classmates feedback as much as the one from your professors. If your only worry is to make a successful film, then you probably won’t learn anything on the process neither make a successful film.