Academy Gold Rising program tries to find future artists in Hollywood

The next generation of artists and filmmakers need guidance, and many in Hollywood have long wondered how to provide training and support. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is trying to achieve this through its Academy Gold Rising program, which has completed its fifth year of over 100 entertainment enhancements and mentoring for students and young professionals.

Of course, Hollywood is still not a level playing field, even despite the dramatic changes in the industry over the past few years. Yet, as Christine Simmons, the Academy’s chief operating officer, puts it Variety, she is optimistic.

“I don’t know that many black CEOs,” Simmons says. “We have people in the industry who mentor and pair these young people, so that this trail that we had to walk uphill, barefoot, in the snow, can be eliminated. But, more importantly, they can see people who look like them and who are Actually I do it.”

The composition of the participants’ situation in their lives varies. Some enter with their passion for storytelling flowing from their veins, ready to take the world of cinema by storm. And then there are others who are at a crossroads, uncertain of their relationship to the artistic medium, and who seek advice.

Eliana Pipes, a Los Angeles native of Puerto Rican, black and queer descent, is an alumnus of two Gold programs – Gold Rising and Gold Fellowship for Women, which provides financial support and mentorship to emerging female filmmakers. “I grew up in Culver City, one block from Sony Pictures Studios,” she shares. “Because of the way the industry is structured, and even though it was so close I could throw a rock out of my house and hit the wall, it was still a million miles away.”

Academy Gold opened those doors to Pipes to access spaces like Disney and Warner Bros which it says have always been intentionally closed.

Pipes was a Creative Development Intern at HBO during her time in the inaugural class of 2017. She attended Columbia University for her undergraduate degree and recently received her MA in Drama Writing from Boston University. She is finishing her first animated short, “Nails”, which was part of her project under another Gold program, Gold Women’s Fellowship, for which she was selected in 2019 and was the first recipient of the Wavelength scholarship for artists who identify as BIPOC or non-binary women.

This year’s program ran from June 21 to its conclusion on August 7, venturing into all aspects of the Hollywood industry, from “The Magic of Sound in Movies” to “The Path to Becoming an Agent. Hollywood “. All panels are moderated and mentored by top industry leaders, including Oscar-winning animation director Pete Docter and Academy president David Rubin.

It is not enough to give motivational speeches to inspire someone to want to get started in the business. Gold Rising offers hands-on training, focusing on tactical tools that take them to the next level.

The Oscars have been the source of criticism and controversy, especially the years when the awards show only named white actors in its best categories. But others in Hollywood have noted that the awards can’t be given to non-white performers if there aren’t enough performances there – and people of color working behind the scenes.

“I felt we could be more holistic, more concrete and more operational, and not just rely on the passion of some,” says Simmons.

Like many communities of color, too many of them ignore careers that could be explored and fulfilled in the company besides being an actress, which Simmons herself identifies with. “I knew I could be a doctor or a lawyer, and I chose a doctor. and then I did not go to medical school.

She tells the story of a woman entering the program and wanting to be an actress and moving on to archiving, where a student at Morehouse College told her he realized he didn’t want a career in industry. “I love when people, who are in historically underutilized communities, can say ‘it’s not for me’ and go find something else they’re passionate about. We saved them many years of trauma.

All Gold Rising internships at the 25 partner companies this year are paid and Production Track students receive stipends. Some of their partners included AMC Networks, CAA, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Media. Additionally, before the pandemic and the program went virtual, the Academy had also offered a limited number of one-time grants to out-of-state students to help offset travel and accommodation costs.