The Golden Globes and Oscars may still be months away, but for Film2Future, it’s already awards season.
After months of hard work, the 25 students who took part in year two of the non-profit organization’s film program gathered in Los Angeles Thursday night to unveil their own animated shorts, celebrate their achievements, and take home a trophy.
It wasn’t easy getting to this point for anyone involved. For 17-year-old Damian Vasquez, it’s a daily commute of nearly two hours on three buses and a car ride to get from where he lives in Riverside, California. For Film2Future founder Rachel Miller, making it to a second round was a near miracle, considering after the inaugural year, they lost both their location and funding due to the their grant not being renewed by the Trump administration. “We were scrambling to beg, borrow, and plead,” says Miller.
But they made it happen, even as they were faced with less staff and more kids. Aided by guest speakers like The Last Man on Earth stars Will Forte and Kristen Schaal, Lionsgate and CBS as sponsors, as well as Deutsch LA advertising agency stepping in to house the students in their new 60,000-foot studio, Film2Future returned, following up last year’s program on narrative filmmaking with a focus on the art of animation.
“I wish I had this program when I was a kid,” shares Miller, also the founding partner of management production company Haven Entertainment. “I pictured what I wished I had at 15, and then, I brought it to life.”
Read the rest of Hollywood’s ‘Game Changers’ May Be In Its Own Backyard via Entertainment Weekly’s website.
