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Flocking to film school - minorities and the film industry

Black Issues in Higher Education - January 11, 1996

New York -- In recent years, many of the high School students clamoring for a coveted spot in New York University's Future Filmmakers Workshop -- designated for members of "traditionally underrepresented" groups -- have challenged the boundaries of what that means.

Among the more than 100 applicants competing for the program's 15 or 20 slots, there are students who have declared "Latino-Scandinavian" or "Jamaican-French" roots, says Carlos de Jesus who directs the program. When it began, the nine-year-old training program was aimed primarily at African-American and Latino students.

The film industry itself offers the clearest picture of who is underrepresented, says de Jesus -- "women, Blacks, Asians, Latinos."

"It's not a mystery. It's pretty blatant," he argues. "The film industry has been dominated, especially at the upper echelons, by white males."

Lacking systematic entry points, training programs or affirmative action that would allow outsiders access to power, Hollywood has long been dominated by an active old-boy network. But programs like NYU's Future Filmmakers are challenging that dominance by producing highly trained young filmmakers of all races and ethnicities whose vision may eventually change the way movies and television shows are made.

"We're going to make a whole bunch of people ready," said Sheril Antonio, assistant dean for the undergraduate film and television department at NYU's Tisch School. "We're not making people to fit," adds Antonio who helps select students for the 12-week training program.

Keisha Cameron, an undergraduate in the NYU's film and television program, got her start in film through Future Filmmakers. "A big part of why people apply to the program is to see the down and dirty realities of filmmaking.

By the time I got in [NYU's Tisch School] I was ready," Cameron declared.

In recent years there has been an upswing in the number of people of color and women working in front of and behind the camera. But one thing is certain in Hollywood, say many minority veterans and newcomers in the industry: affirmative action doesn't exist.

"If we understand affirmative action to be addressing the wrongs and ills that have been done previously to a certain point, has Hollywood particularly been a part of initiating that change? I don't think so," said veteran actor Danny Glover in a recent Los Angeles Times interview.

Producer Tim Reid scoffed at the notion of affirmative action in the film industry. He says the same anti-affirmative action backlash that is sweeping the nation has caught hold in Hollywood.

"The filmmaking industry has used the political landscape to avoid doing what it didn't want to do in the first place," says Reid who is best known for his acting role on the television show "Frank's Place." (See interview of Reid.)

That was not always the case in the nation's movie-making capital. Following a series of hearings held by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1968 on the status of people of color in Hollywood, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a five-year mandate calling for the creation of minority training programs at production companies, studios and networks, which improved career opportunities.

But almost as soon as the doors swung open for hundreds of people of color to get their big break in the entertainment industry, they nearly closed shut in 1975, when government monitoring of the industry ended. More than two decades later, only a handful of training programs still exist. Of the 2,057 entertainment companies contracting with Hollywood's Writers Guild for example, only 12 offer writing programs targeting people of color.

`Proactive Presence'

In large measure, say some observers, the nation's film schools reflect Hollywood -- largely white and male, a smattering of minorities and an active old-boy network.

Before Tisch School Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell arrived at the bustling urban campus in 1991, the institution was virtually a mirror image of tinsel town, she declares.

She readily acknowledges that before her arrival, "the school was pretty homogenous across the board ... it's a statistical fact.

"Since my arrival we have given not only the department, but the entire school a much more pluralistic and heterogenous content. When you have a plurality of points of view, it has by necessity, an impact on everything, on faculty, curriculum on choice of students ...," says Campbell, who is African American

For example, students of color at Tisch School make up about 40 percent of the student population. "Before that it was about 80 or 90 percent homogenous [white]." Today the assistant dean for television and film is African American and the head of the school's graduate film program is an Asian-American woman.

Having "a proactive presence" at the school and on the urban campus, is something Campbell relishes.

"What for me will be a sign of real influence is the extent to which students -- Black, white, green or purple -- are able to stay in the program and find a way of finding their voice and making films. That's it for me. To keep an eye on our ability to do that for all students, not just those with the resources, but for all students."

There are already signs that her plan is taking shape, says Campbell, citing recent student success stories. "It signals to me that we not only brought more [students of color] here, but we're creating an environment where all of our students can work productively.

One of the toughest challenges filmschool administrators say they face is helping students convince parents that four years of lights, cameras and action will be money well spent and will lead to a job after graduation.

"It's tough to convince families in general that the arts is a viable field, and it's even more difficult to convince minority parents and immigrants who may be struggling financially," said Campbell who recalls the tough time she had selling her professional parents on the idea of studying art education in graduate school.

Attending the Tisch School as an undergraduate and graduate costs students $19,265, with an additional $8,700 for housing and other expenses. But beyond tuition and room and board, is the other big ticket item-- producing student films.

Campbell estimates that the required graduate-school film can cost about $6,000 but the average for student films, which are about 20 minutes long, is between $10,000 and $12,000. Except for small film allowances provided by the school, students must raise the money for their own projects.

Cinderella Stories

Geoffrey Fletcher, an African-American graduate student, recently learned that his 23-minute student film "Magic Markers," will be produced by John Singleton. Greg Wilson, an undergraduate who is also African American, will have his award-winning film "The Last Call," aired on Showtime early this year. And the "talented" crop of Spike Lee Fellows enrolled this academic year with scholarships funded by director Spike Lee, have already caught Campbell's attention.

Just five years ago, students like Fletcher would have been the exception. Today, Cinderella stories are fast becoming the rule at Tisch, boasts Campbell.

"I can say with a great deal of confidence that there are several more like him. That's a good feeling."

Fletcher's account of the "negotiations" for the feature-length version of "Magic Markers," is matter-of-fact and punctuated with slow smiles.

He "breezed through" meetings in New York and Los Angeles with "Boyz N the Hood" producer John Singleton, "unflustered and relaxed" -- not because such deals are routine, but because the experience seemed so unreal. says Fletcher, who will spend the next several months writing and expanding the script.

"Magic Markers," a true, "surreal love story," about two college students, is a dramatic departure from the types of gritty urban Black films Singleton has produced. But Fletcher says the fact that the movie is different and personal is why Singleton responded.

"He's [Singleton] purposely trying to branch out and do some different projects. If you do an issue that concerns you deeply, people will care about it, given the fact that it is executed properly," says Fletcher.

Fletcher, who describes himself as a filmmaker who happens to be Black, hopes that his films will have cross-over appeal. "My films concern Black people, but people can look at them and not perceive them as being only about a Black experience.

"I didn't grow up in the inner city and unless I did a lot of research, I couldn't do a film based on that," says Fletcher, who graduates this year.

While most film-school students rarely experience the success that Fletcher and Wilson have already enjoyed, being a film-school trained director enhances the odds of making it in the industry.

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