Fall 2025
Section 0581 of FMA10
Film Appreciation -- : Sep 04 - Dec 12 2025
Students enrolling in this section are expected to participate in a weekly one-hour small group Zoom discussion at 12:00pm,1:00pm or 2:00pm. Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam.
Section 1572 of FMA17
Contemporary World Cinema -- : Aug 26 - Dec 12 2025
This is a late start course. Remaining content will be delivered synchronously. Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam.
Section 3720 of FMA10
Film Appreciation -- : Aug 27 - Dec 12 2025
This late start course has mandatory in-person meetings in the Petaluma campus theatre, Carole L. Ellis Auditorium, on the day and time listed. This class will run concurrent with the Petaluma Cinema Series which holds screenings in the same venue. Students enrolling in this section are expected to purchase a CubCard Premium ($15) in lieu of a course fee. Remaining content will be delivered asynchronously. Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam.
Spring 2025
Section 4609 of MEDIA15
Modern Film History -- : Jan 28 - May 16 2025
This is a late start section. Students enrolling in this section are expected to participate in Film Fest Petaluma (Saturday, May 3). Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam that has both video and audio capabilities.
Section 6500 of MEDIA10
Film Appreciation -- : Jan 29 - May 16 2025
This is a late start course. Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam that has both video and audio capabilities. Students enrolling in this section are expected to participate in Film Fest Petaluma (Saturday, May 3) and are expected to purchase a CubCard Premium ($15) in lieu of a course fee. All students are welcome to enroll in this class; and this section will have extra support from the Lanzamientoinitiative.
Section 7138 of MEDIA10
Film Appreciation -- : Jan 30 - May 16 2025
Students enrolling in this section are expected to participate in a weekly one-hour small group Zoom discussion at 12:00pm,1:00pm or 2:00pm. Students should have reliable internet access and a functioning webcam. Students enrolling in this section are expected to participate in Film Fest Petaluma (Saturday, May 3). All students are welcome to enroll in this class; and this section will have extra support from the Lanzamientoinitiative.
Michael Traina began his academic training as a Radio-Television-Film and Religious Studies major at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Interested in teaching, Traina pursued a Master’s in Mass Communication Theory and landed a job at Antelope Valley College in Los Angeles County where he served for 13 years on the full-time faculty. In 2008, he accepted a position at Santa Rosa Junior College and relocated to Petaluma where he teaches Film & Media Studies.
Mike’s professional career in the film industry began as a programmer for the American Film Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. His experience curating American independent films for AFI lead to a two decade career running film festivals in both Northern and Southern California. In 1997, he wrote and directed his first feature film, Verses, and has since worked on a wide variety of film and television projects in China, Greece, and the U.S. He has been an invited guest to several film festivals around the world as a filmmaker and juror. He currently directs the Petaluma Film Alliance, a program of the SRJC Foundation that operates the Petaluma Cinema Series and produces Film Fest Petaluma, the city’s annual shorts festival.
Mike’s insatiable wanderlust has brought him to over 60 countries in the last 20 years. He is a strong advocate for international education and has spent two semesters teaching in London and one in Paris where he has engaged students in making films, participating in international film festivals, and visiting major movie studios.