“A real cinematographer is someone who can be left alone with his camera in an unknown place and will return with a finished film” – such are the words of Paul Roth, the classic of documentary cinema. The Department of Cinema and Photo Art of the State University of Culture and Art follows this approach. The students of the Department spend five years studying drama, film directing, cinematography, sound engineering and photography. Twice a year, they produce films in a wide range of genres, organize personal and group photography exhibitions.

The Department’s student photography exhibition has become a traditional part of the Open St. Petersburg Student Film Festival «Beginning».