Background

In February 2007, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Academic Exchange Programs of the U.S. Department of State, issued a request for grant proposals for four different Fusion Arts Exchange programs to be hosted by American universities over a five-week period during the summer.

One of the four programs was for Screenwriting and Film Production, and the proposal request noted that the program “should provide a multinational group of 18-20 experienced and highly-motivated (university) undergraduates with an intensive, collaborative course on screenwriting within the context of current film production techniques and standards.”

In addition to covering the major topics in production and writing, the participants “should have ample opportunity to learn from academics and working professionals…A key component of the program should be an introductory course exploring American history, values and culture as seen through American film, which should be integrated into the curriculum for its entirety and provide a framework for the exchange experience.”

The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts received this special grant in 2007 and 20 young aspiring filmmakers participated in workshops, seminars, screenings, studio visits and took an educational tour of southern United States.  The program was so successful that the State Department approved a second year, and once again the School of Cinematic Arts has received the grant for Screenwriting and Film Production.

Building on last year’s successful instructional template, the school will once again present a four-week series of workshops in writing, directing and production and sessions on American film.  At the end of the classroom work, the Fusion Arts Fellows and escorts will board a bus for a several-day journey up the coast of California, ending in San Francisco.  Stops along the way will include visits to the Hearst Castle, the setting for Orson Welle’s masterpiece, CITIZEN KANE, visits to animation and visual effects studios in San Francisco and elsewhere, meeting with scholars at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the

Pacific Archives in Berkeley, and seeing many of the areas that have served as the locations for Hollywood movies.  From San Francisco, the Fellows will fly to Washington, DC for the final few days where they will meet students from the other Fusion Arts Exchange programs, spend time with State Department representatives for a debriefing and tour several of the city’s most famous landmarks.  The Fellows will then return to their home countries and cities from Washington, DC.   

In addition to the 15 international students, five American undergraduate students will be selected from a pool of candidates from university film and television programs throughout the country.  These students will participate in all aspects of the Fusion Arts Exchange program, living and working collaboratively with their international peers.

In addition to USC, three other grants comprising the Fusion Arts Exchange project were awarded for Sports Management (Texas A&M), Music Composition and Performance (Northeastern University),  and Digital Media and Computer-assisted Design (Rhode Island School of Design).