Film (production) grad here as well. A good film school program is a space where teams of people get to make all their mistakes and figure out what they're abou

Film (production) grad here as well. A good film school program is a space where teams of people get to make all their mistakes and figure out what they're about while making horrendously flawed pieces. Everyone exits with a slightly different baggage of experience. I would add one thought here - it's not just about seeing others make mistakes, or about making the mistakes yourself. It's also about seeing how mistakes can be made across bigger teams or time-frames. Well-intended innocent creative choices at one point in the process can cause serious trouble later. Or two independent choices can create unforeseen problems. That's the sort of experience that's least visible, and that's what experienced mentors can provide. So, I would argue that it's best to have a healthy mix - you want to see others fail, you want to fail yourself, but then you also want to have mentorship by others who have made these failures themselves. Seeing someone else make a mistake and then making that same mistake yourself can be a very valuable and humbling experience.