Filmmaking at Florida State University

Florida may one day rival Hollywood as the home of movie-making - that is, if the 14-year-old Florida State University film school has anything to say about it. Dean Frank Patterson says Florida is on its way to becoming more than just another location. His goal is to get FSU grads in positions of power in Hollywood and then encourage these alumni to bring their productions back to their home state.

A Reward of Excellence
The new annual $5,000 FSU-Florida Commerce Credit Union Pathfinder Grant will help make this dream a reality. This grant, awarded by the faculty of the film school to the most promising member of each graduating class, is basically a jump-start on a Hollywood career. "When Florida Commerce came to me," says Patterson, "and said FCCU wanted to help the film school, it could not have been better timing. $5,000 may not sound like a lot of money to some people, but when you're just starting out and sleeping on someone else's couch, it can go a long way."

FSU film school grads have a remarkable employment track record: within 12 months of graduation, virtually 100% of students find work. However, the most talented are generally faced with a dilemma upon reaching Los Angeles: take a fantastic non-paying internship which would be a real career-making opportunity with a top studio or production company - or take a mediocre paid internship. "Inevitably, they take the paid internship," explains Patterson, "because they have to eat. But�now these filmmakers will have the option to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime and still survive."

And the Winner Is…
This year's worthy recipient is Barry Jenkins, a Miami native who graduated this December with a double major in film and creative writing. His new short film, "Little Brown Boy," along with the thesis films of his 27 classmates, was screened on December 13 at Ruby Diamond Auditorium. The eight-minute short follows the tragic events in one boy's life after a senseless shooting on a basketball court.