21CF Nonprofit Partner Ghetto Film School Now Accepting Applications for 2017-19 Fellowship Program

Feb 15, 2017 7:40 PM ET
Ghetto Film School students

21st Century Fox Social Impact

Ghetto Film School, an award-winning nonprofit and 21st Century Fox partner, is currently recruiting for its 2017-19 Fellows Program. The Fellows Program is an immersive narrative filmmaking program for high schoolers based in NYC or LA, and free of charge for all students. 

Ghetto Film School (GFS) provides high school students with a substantive and rigorous filmmaking program to develop the next generation of great American storytellers. GFS graduates go on to enroll at prestigious universities and enter the creative industry with impressive professional experience. GFS New York was created in 2000 by Joe Hall, and after years of tremendous growth with interest from the Hollywood community, 21CF helped launched GFS Los Angeles in 2014. 

“What Joe and his team have built in the Bronx has delivered real results from an incredible focus and a feel for storytelling," said James Murdoch, 21CF CEO. “They’ve discovered talented kids and have made a difference in their lives."

The Fellows Program is a 30-month pre-professional program for young storytellers ages 14-18. Students receive 1,000 hours of hands-on training in screenwriting, camera operation, editing, and sound mixing from leading filmmakers and industry experts on live sets and in studios. They develop short films, commercials, and other creative content, and have the chance to shoot abroad in locations like London and Tokyo and screen their films at venues such as the Lincoln Center. Throughout the program, students also undergo college application advising and test prep support, as well as connections to paid internships at top media and creative companies.

Simone Walker, a 15-year-old high school student from LA who participated in the 2013-15 Fellows program, said, "I see myself going into the film industry as a producer or an assistant director, but education comes first... Being 15, college is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about but not having a good idea of what I had to do or how it worked. The program really helped me to understand what college is and what I've got to do to succeed in it.”

Interested students in NYC or LA should visit https://www.ghettofilm.org/ for details; applications must be submitted by March 15, 2017 for consideration.

21CF GFS 2016 Final from 21CF Impact on Vimeo.