Cal State Long Beach film and electronic art students have been given the opportunity to apply for funding for documentary projects this year.
The CSULB Film and Electronic Arts Department received a $35,000 grant for the academic year from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on July 30 and will be awarded in the form of scholarships to students, primarily those planning to create a documentary.
“The money goes directly to the students,” said Craig Smith, film and electronic arts department chairman. The money will provide students with funds for all aspects of filmmaking, such as “[helping them] travel, get equipment, all of those things,” Smith said.
To get a portion of the money, film students must submit a proposal about their film project, how much money they need and how the money would be used. A commit-tee of three faculty members will then look over the proposal and decide whether or not to accept the request. According to the HFPA website, the grant could help at least 30 students.
Although all types of films are considered, “the first priority is documentaries,” Smith said. If there is any money left over, the other films will be funded.
The amount of money given to each school is determined by how much the schools request. Smith had to submit a proposal himself and have an interview with the organization to have his request approved, Smith said.
Compared to more expensive schools, this grant will benefit a greater number of students at CSULB because of the university’s low tuition, Smith said.
According to Arléna Kauppi, the director of development at the College of the Arts, the HFPA usually has a requirement for the grant recipient of distributing a mini-mum of $5,000 per student. In the case of CSULB, the association let the department distribute the money accordingly.
“[The HFPA] has been wonderful in working with us. Their money went to benefit a whole lot of students even though it goes against their grant requirements,” Kauppi said.
Addressing how the grant could help CSULB film students compared to how it would help USC film students, Smith said that it’s a 1-to-10 ratio.
“Thirty-five thousand dollars at CSULB could benefit 10 students, but only one or two, if that, at more expensive film schools such as Chapman University or USC,” Smith said in a prepared statement. “The money goes a long way here. One of the things I like best about this grant is its flexibility. The money is for our student filmmakers alone, not faculty or for buying equipment, and we decide how much money the students need for each project.”
This is not the first time the film department has received money from the HFPA, a group of journalists who specialize in the film industry.
The first gift from the HFPA was in 2005 in the amount of $20,000 to specifically fund the documentary program, according to Kauppi. The department received $38,000 from the HFPA in 2006, $30,000 for scholarships and $8,000 for equipment upgrades. Last year the department received a $30,000 grant for scholarships as well.
The press association, which hosts the Golden Globe Awards and votes on the award nominees, supported student filmmakers by giving a total of $759,865 to 25 dif-ferent film schools and non-profit organizations. Over the years, the organization’s grants have totaled to over $7.5 million, according to the HFPA website.
Other grant recipients include California Institute of the Arts with $60,000, CSU Northridge with $66,000, Columbia University with $50,000, NYU with $20,000 and UCLA with $65,000.
Tiffany Rider contributed to this report.
