Our programs aim to elevate the voices of emerging filmmakers of color who don’t see themselves represented in the TV and film industry due to nepotism, unpaid internships and exclusionary hiring practices. We also give access to arts to youth and families in communities of color where an arts education is sorely lacking. Our programs serve over 2000 individuals annually through three focus areas:

Youth Leadership:
– Nuevas Novelas: A storytelling, environmental justice and community engagement intensive for teens of color creating documentaries.
– Teen Dating & Healthy Relationships: Socio-emotional and media-literacy workshops to equip students with knowledge about the cycle of violence, its normalization in the media, and how to recognize signs to prevent it.

Workforce Development:
– BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab: Selected fellows author original sci-fi and fantasy TV pilot scripts through a lecture series and one-on-one mentorships. Fellows exhibit excerpts of their scripts in a table read.
– Production Assistant Certification: A job-training initiative that provides 30 participants annually with their first paid industry job. Participants receive on-the-job training and subsequent paid job placements on BIPOC-led film productions.
– Video Diaries: First-time filmmakers create autobiographical documentaries.
– Short Film Launchpad: A career-bridging initiative where graduates pitch, produce, and screen original short films, taking on key creative roles.

Systems Change:
– Trauma-informed Storytelling: Designed to provide arts organizations’ staff with new strategies to provide their program participants experiencing trauma with tools to reframe their stories.