Ghetto+Film+School

=Ghetto Film School= Created by: & Mike Usino = = =Overview of the Ghetto Film School=

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Founded in 2000, the Ghetto Film School (GFS) aims to connect young people to career opportunities in the film and video industry. GFS has seen over 400 students participate in its workshops and programs since its founding.=====

GFS operates within three foundational pedagogical tenets:
 * Assets-Based Teaching: GFS aims to capitalize on the abilities, perspectives, and talents that the students already have and integrate them with new skills.
 * Cinema Studies: GFS aims to introduce students to technical and historical aspects of cinema in an effort to increase students' mobility within the field.
 * Travel and Multiple Distribution Platforms: GFS aims to showcase student work through its own events and through domestic and international film festivals.

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Instructional Approach
The GFS focuses on industry exposure and individual development of its students as filmmakers. Young people participate in GFS programs as fellows and go through a 15-week training course in which they learn the art of cinematic storytelling, explore the media industry, connect to and get mentored by industry professionals, and complete a number of individual and group film projects in which they hone their skills in every aspect of film production from location scouting and casting to budgeting and marketing the final product. Fellows showcase their work at an annual screening and submit pieces to festivals.

To further prepare their fellows for careers in film and media, GFS runs a student-operated production company known as Digital Bodega. Corporate and non-profit clients commission GFS teams to produce videos for events, electronic press kits and other marketing materials.

Institutional Support

 * **Funding**: GFS is financially supported through a combination of individual donors, corporate partners, philanthropic foundations, and municipal funding.
 * **Management**: GFS is managed by a Board of Directors that is comprised of business leaders, industry representatives, and members of local and state government.
 * **Administration**: The administration is comprised of a President, Vice President, Program Director, Director of Development, a Filmmaker in Residence, Screenwriting Instructor, and a General Manager.
 * **Advisory Board**: An GFS Advisory Board provides advice and support to the Administration and Management regarding the organization, management, and pedagogy of GFS. The Board is comprised of members of corporate partners, industry professionals, academics, and actors.

Considerations
GFS uses a industry-focused approach which differs from the youth empowerment media pedagogies of programs like Educational Video Center. What are the benefits and the downsides of this approach? Connecting youth to industry professionals can provide critical social and cultural capital.