The AFI Conservatory and the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation have partnered to launch the second annual Young Women in Film Intensive.
The AFI Campus in Los Angeles will host 45 high school girls for an eight-week filmmaking workshop, where students will receive mentorship from current fellows and working professional alumni of the AFI Conservatory. Participating girls come from ICEF (Inner City Education Foundation) View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School, Immaculate Heart and Synergy Quantum Academy High School. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs helped made this program possible with a grant.
“AFI has long been an epicenter for educating and inspiring creators, and we are proud to have them join us, for the second year, in our effort to put a spotlight on female storytellers in film,”said Jana Babatunde-Bey, president and CEO of the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation. “Inclusion can only be made possible when we create pipelines for opportunity as young artists continue to hone their craft, and this program is a perfect example of our work to create access and opportunity for diverse voices.”
Students will learn screenwriting, producing, production design, directing, cinematography, and editing. Participants will have access to state-of-the art cinematic technology and professional actors from the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Conservatory. The girls will work in teams alongside AFI Conservatory fellows and alumni to create short films that will screen on campus at the end of the workshop.
It’s a busy year for the Smith family. Jada Pinkett-Smith’s “Red Table Talks” Facebook Watch series continues to inspire social media chatter. She also executive produced “Hala,” a coming-of-age drama about a modern Muslim teenage girl, which was acquired by Apple out of the Sundance Film Festival. Her husband has a massive double-billing in theaters this year, first with Disney’s live-action “Aladdin,” then the long-gestating action thriller “Gemini Man” in the fall from Paramount.