THE GHETTO FILM SCHOOL (GFS) PRESENTS GFS MASTERCLASS
LEE DANIELS TO LAUNCH MASTERCLASS SERIES ON JANUARY 31st WITH A LIVE STREAM SEMINAR on GOOGLE+ HANGOUT
South Bronx, NY (January 27, 2012) - The Ghetto Film School (GFS) announced today the launch of GFS MasterClass, a cutting edge initiative to bring the nonprofit’s award-winning educational model to scale, reaching thousands of teen storytellers around the world. With the help of Google and YouTube, GFS MasterClass connects professional directors with young filmmakers in a global Google+ Hangout series to improve their craft and hone their skills.
The first MasterClass, which is set to launch live 6PM EST Tuesday, January 31st at Ghetto Film School’s South Bronx Post House (SBPH), features acclaimed filmmaker Lee Daniels, who will be joined by 8 young filmmakers from around the world (Venezuela, Rwanda, Ukraine, Israel, Belfast, Haiti, Sweden and Los Angeles) , as well as series moderator (and GFS Fellows Program graduate) Gloria Alvarez.
Additional directors in the line-up for 2012 include: Spike Jonze, (Where the Wild Things Are), David O. Russell (The Fighter), Jim Jarmusch (The Limits of Control), Tamra Davis (Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child), Ed Burns (Newlyweds), Peter Sollett (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist), Catherine Hardwicke (Red Riding Hood), Paola Mendoza (Entre Nos), Barry Jenkins (Remigration), David Robert Mitchell (Myth of the American Sleepover), John Singleton (Abduction) and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air).
“I’ve been with Ghetto Film School from the early days, their students interned at my Harlem brownstone office, and I’m thrilled now to bring the invaluable GFS experience to young filmmakers all over the world,” said Lee Daniels.
GFS MasterClass is a monthly series hosted on Google+ Hangouts throughout the year. Sessions will stream live in hour-long segments on Google+, and will be available for viewing as 15-minute modules on YouTube. Each episode features a top director leading a discussion about a specific topic (e.g. “Working with Actors,” “The Core of the Story”), with series moderator Gloria Alvarez and 8 young filmmakers from around the world. Participants for each episode are given creative assignments to complete and then share on Google+ and YouTube.
“We’ve given serious time and thought on how to meet the demand for our award-winning program,” said Joe Hall, GFS founder and president. “We now have the best possible partners and platform to bring this creative education model to young artists all over the world. The new storytelling community we are building will deliver real impact and results.”
"My favorite thing about Google+ Hangouts is that it’s quick and intuitive. You can have up to 10 people in one conversation. Right now I use it to stay in touch with my friends abroad, but the possibilities to change the way we learn about the world and communicate with each other using Hangouts are endless. I’m excited to see the applications people bring to this new technology," said Gloria Alvarez.
MasterClass takes place in a virtual environment, with directors filmed on location at various sites throughout the US, including the South Bronx Post House (Bronx, NY), the Film Society of Lincoln Center (New York, NY) and the Googleplex (Mountainview, CA).
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About Ghetto Film School
Founded in 2000, the Ghetto Film School (GFS)’s mission is to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great American storytellers. Working with teens through their high-school years, college and beyond GFS achieves its goals through three areas of business: The Fellows Program (a 15-month immersion into cinematic storytelling), Digital Bodega (a student-operated production company) and The Cinema School (the nation's first film high school). www.ghettofilm.org.
Media Contact:
Marissa Dwyer
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