On Monday, November 5th, the award-winning Ghetto Film School hosted its annual Gala, honoring Michael B. Jordan; Director, Melina Matsoukas; and National Geographic’s Courteney Monroe.
This starry night, which took place at James Murdoch’s LA home, helped raise money for the Los Angeles-and Bronx-based nonprofit that supports young filmmakers. We’re told the gala raised double what the organization projected, for a total of $1 million dollars.
Founded in 2000, the Ghetto Film School identifies young talent from local communities in NYC and Los Angeles, providing them with the access, opportunity, and resources to pursue creative careers.
We exist because there are extraordinary, wildly creative teenagers living in local communities who have authentic perspectives and want to share their stories with the world.
– Stosh Mintek, CEO of GFS
The night was filled with purpose and positive energy. The diversity of stars that showed up to support was a major testament to the impact GFS is having on the industry, local communities, and the next generation of storytellers. In the midst of celebration, we caught up with two-time Grammy Award winner and Director, Melina Matsoukas (Insecure, Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ video, Master of None, to name a few), to learn a bit more about why the Ghetto Film School is an organization and an effort so close to her heart.
The Knockturnal: What inspired you to get involved with the Ghetto Film School?
Melina Matsoukas: I’m from the Bronx and the program started in the Bronx. Working in my industry, there aren’t a lot of people of color or people from underserved communities because they don’t always get the resources or opportunities. And I saw that GFS was really trying to do that.
They were making an effort to infiltrate these communities and give them the tools that they need to succeed. So I’m always going to support that; because we need more people that look like me and also more diverse voices and minds.
– Melina Matsoukas
The Knockturnal: What are some of the ways you create spaces for more inclusion and diversity?
Melina Matsoukas: I try to work on stories that are about us, or inspire us in some way, and give us a platform to be seen and have voices. I also try to employ as many people of color on our crew; I’m always trying to flood the pipelines with new talent and new voices that represent people of color.
The Knockturnal: You’ve had an incredible career—which started with directing music videos. What was the transition like to television?
Melina: It was a natural transition for me. I’d been doing music videos for over 10 years at the time, and I really wanted to be a part of what I felt like was growth and that felt natural to me with TV. [With television] you can tell stories that have a lot of depth. I was looking for that project that I was passionate about and felt close to home, and then Insecure came and I totally related to it.
The Knockturnal: Season 4 of Insecure…what can we expect?
Melina Matsoukas: I have no idea actually! Everyone’s on hiatus right now, and they deserve it because they’ve been working so hard since we first started, and it’s been a whirlwind. So while they do that, I’m working on some other television and film projects.
Left to right: Alana Mayo, Lena Waithe, Rajveer Kooner, Tony Fernandes (Photo: Alex J. Berlliner/ABImages)
Other stars in attendance included Solange, Tina Lawson (Knowles), Christian Slater, and David O. Russell, to name a few. As the night transitioned, we also took the time to chat with a few students of GFS (both from London), Rajveer Kooner and Tony Fernandes. We discussed everything from what they’ve learned over the course of the program, to what experiences inspired them the most, and what’s next on the horizon for these more-than-promising storytellers:
The Knockturnal: Tell us a bit about one of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on.
Rajveer Kooner: It would have to be the thesis, which is the last project we just did. It was a short film, around ten minutes long that we shot here in L.A. We’re from London, and it was our first time coming here, so to shoot in a different city has been amazing. One of the highlights was the bus scene—shooting on a moving bus—that was a lot of fun.
Tony Fernandez: Jan de Bont came on the bus and mentored me for the whole session. He instructed me…and if anyone has experience shooting on a moving bus, it’s him. He taught me some tips on the last day of our shoot. I wrote and directed the project; Raj is our editor.
The Knockturnal: How important has it been to have mentors during this process at the Ghetto Film School?
Tony Fernandez: I’ve never actually had a directing mentor, so my second teacher in the program, Derik, was my first directing mentor. If we ever needed help, his knowledge really came through and we’ve improved incredibly. All GFS staff are incredible when it comes to sharing knowledge and helping us.
Rajveer Kooner: They talk to us as friends, which obviously just helps.
The whole journey and the amount of things we know now because of GFS, is just crazy. And that’s not just as filmmakers—as people, too. All of the experiences we’ve gotten have been amazing, and it’s because of the film school.
– Rajveer Kooner, GFS student
The Knockturnal: So now that the program has ended, what’s next?
Rajveer Kooner: Right now, Tony and I are both interning at Sky in London. I’m working on editing promos for them; Tony is coming up with the ideas.
Tony Fernandez: More long-term, I want to also come back to GFS and work with them to expand outward.
Michael B. Jordan and Robert De Niro (Photo: Alex J. Berlliner/ABImages)
As the night came to a close, the sentiments expressed painted a clear picture of why we were all there. American actor and producer Christian Slater explained his thoughts as such: “I think there can certainly be more diversity in all aspects of the entertainment industry, but particularly in more of the leadership positions. Then I think we’ll all get a broader scope of much more interesting stories and probably a greater a grasp of the kinds of stories that need to be told.”
Black Panther star, Michael B. Jordan, one among a group to close out the evening, ended the night reminding us of who this event was really for and why the Ghetto Film School is such an important organization.
You guys are giving the communities a purpose, you’re giving the communities confidence, and most importantly opportunity—opportunity to be whoever you want to be.
– Michael B. Jordan
