ATLANTA — Georgia Film Academy announced last week that it is expanding its hands-on training in the film and creative industries to South Georgia.
Through partnership with PhilanthroFilms, an organization dedicated to building a film production workforce in South Georgia, GFA is set to bring professional film/television production and post-production courses to Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in Spring 2025 with additional universities and technical colleges in the area to follow.
“Expanding our reach to South Georgia is crucial to developing a film and creative workforce across our state,” said C. Scott Votaw, assistant vice chancellor at the University System of Georgia where he leads GFA. “We are excited to bring our unique courses and curriculum to the area and establish GFA’s presence in the southern part of Georgia for the first time.”
GFA’s introductory class for its 18-credit-hour professional Film & Television Production certification will be offered in Spring 2025 with additional pathway courses to debut in subsequent semesters. Additionally, GFA’s Film & Television Post-Production certification classes will be offered online to students in the region. Courses will also be available to high school students through dual enrollment at participating institutions.
“We are so excited to partner with GFA as we continue to see South Georgia grow as a significant hub for film and television production,” said Cathy Parker, president of PhilanthroFilms. “It is a unique opportunity to train our residents for the creative industry, so we can keep making movies and building this industry in our region.”
Since its founding in 2015, GFA has educated high school, college and continuing education students as well as community members, teachers and more to bridge critical training gaps across the state. Through supporting the Georgia Film Consortium (GFC), a collaboration of more than 25 partner institutions, GFA offers professional courses in film, television, digital entertainment and esports to students for college credit and for those seeking continuing education with classes facilitated at industry hubs.
GFA’s professional certifications equip the next generation of film and television crews through coursework and on-set internships and are a unique, statewide initiative operated under the auspices of the University System of Georgia. GFA’s internship program has resonated with leading Hollywood studios and production companies such as MGM and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society.
For more information, please visit https://georgiafilmacademy.edu/ or https://philanthrofilms.org/.
The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) is a professional organization and unit of the University System of Georgia (USG) committed to leading and advancing the entertainment arts industry and its workforce in Georgia. GFA supports the Georgia Film Consortium (GFC), a unique-in-the-nation collaboration of the university system, the Technical College System of Georgia and independent institutions across the state. Created by state leadership to meet education and workforce needs for high demand careers in Georgia’s film and creative industries, GFC works with more than 25 partner institutions to offer professional courses in film, television, digital entertainment, esports and game development for college credit. Classes may also be taken through continuing education programs at several partner institutions. GFC’s higher education program includes rigorous professional training and may lead to union-covered film and television production craft internships and placement in creative industry apprenticeships and associated jobs. In addition, GFA supports a graduate consortium of USG partner institutions offering master’s degrees in creative arts geared toward content creation in film, television and digital media. GFA provides professional training in the form of post-production education and AVID editing certification. GFA also offers high school teacher training in content creation, production, post-production and esports in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education, providing professional film and television experiences and training as well as curriculum and resources to teachers across the state. Additionally, GFA hosts opportunities for high school students with summer camps in screenwriting, filmmaking and esports. For more information, visit https://www.georgiafilmacademy.edu/.