Hollywood's budding filmakers - 15th March 2023

The 95th Academy Awards brought together the A-list stars of Hollywood. Meanwhile, the next generation of filmmakers were busy at work in a school which is supported by Oscar winner George Clooney.

Los Angeles public school the Roybal Learning Centre runs a film and television programme. It was created to increase opportunities for people from different backgrounds in American film and television. The school’s students are trained in all aspects of filmmaking.

Teacher Brittany Hilgers sees storytelling from many different angles.

Britanny Hilgers: "We wanna teach them how to tell a story and not just how to write a story. But how to tell a story as a cameraman, how to tell a story as a costume designer. Because that is part of the story, you know, it contributes to it. So, we wanna make sure that the students understand that these, all these jobs are available to them."

Stars George Clooney, Don Cheadle, and Mindy Kaling all visit the school on a regular basis to give students support. The experience has encouraged student Ja'saray Juarez to become a director.

Ja'saray Juarez: "Before coming to this school, I wanted to be an animator and storyboarder. And I think now, I still want to storyboard and animate, but I would mainly wanna be a director and a scriptwriter now since we're learning a lot about that."

David Flores values learning communication skills alongside practical filmmaking.

David Flores: "This school has taught me networking skills, that's very important. I've learned that it's very important to make connections with other people. And I've also learned lots of the basic film techniques, like how to work a camera, how to work a boom mic."

Principal Blanca Cruz believes it's essential to open doors for Los Angeles locals to enter the film industry.

Blanca Cruz: "Those are the students that many times have been left behind, have not had access to the, the support, these resources, well direct access. And so the partnership is key because they themselves in Hollywood see that there's a need."

At this year's Oscars, the film 'Everything, Everywhere All At Once' won 7 awards. Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh held up her Oscar for Best Actress as a message of hope and possibilities. She hopes all the little boys and girls who look like her will remember the moment. It could inspire Roybal's students to make their dreams come true too.