Universal's Global Talent Development & Inclusion Group Doubles the Number of Filmmakers Selected for 2019 Directors Initiative

The Initiative Expands as New Partners American Black Film Festival, New York Latino Film Festival and NBCUniversal Filmmasters join veteran partners AFI Directing Workshop for Women and Sundance Institute’s FilmTwo Fellowship

Participants Include Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre, Director of Focus Features’ The Mustang, And Emmy Nominated Rhys Ernst, Who Directed 2019 Sundance Film Festival Selection Adam 

Recent Alumni Include Gandja Monteiro, Who Will Direct Her First Feature Film with Universal Pictures’ Talent Show

Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion (GTDI) group today announced its next group of filmmakers who will participate in the studio’s 2019 Directors Initiative, which exposes directors to the studio production process as well as creative and production executives across the company.  Now in its third year, the Initiative has doubled in size with 17 directors from diverse backgrounds selected to participate. This year also marks the Initiative’s strongest international reach with directors from China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Iran and Singapore.

The Initiative is designed to give highly-qualified directors access and exposure to a wider group of executives from various divisions of NBCUniversal to develop a network and gain insight on potential future directing opportunities at the company.  It launched in sole collaboration with Sundance Institute’s FilmTwo Fellowship and AFI Directing Workshop for Women, but has since broadened its partners to include the NBCUniversal International’s Filmmasters program, and welcomes for the first time this year participants from the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and the New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF).

The year-long Initiative kicks off today with a week-long intensive, which includes several in-depth sessions with executives from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, plus a special roundtable conversation with Tina Gordon, director of Universal’s Little and next year’s Praise This. 

“While parts of the industry are beginning to see some progress in directing opportunities for women and people from underrepresented backgrounds, the numbers still show that much more work needs to be done,” said Janine Jones-Clark, Senior Vice President, Global Talent Development & Inclusion, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

“As we looked to design this year’s initiative, we wanted to increase the number of participants and grow our network of resources and partners to broaden the scope of our talent pool,” continued Jones-Clark. “This year’s brilliant filmmakers have all demonstrated a compelling vision and a strong understanding of story with their previous accomplishments, and we look forward to working with them over the course of the next year to provide them with exposure and opportunities for continued success.”

Sundance Institute FilmTwo filmmakers participating in the Universal Directors Initiative include: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (The Mustang), Rhys Ernst (Adam), Atsuko Hirayanagi (Oh Lucy!), and Kirsten Tan (Pop Aye).

Participating AFI Directing Workshop for Women directors are: Amber Sealey (How Does it Start), Jessica Kaye (Inheritance), Carly Usdin (Suicide Kale), Parisa Barani (Ablution (Wuzu)), Marielle Woods (Do No Harm), Shilpi Roy (Hipsterhood), Siyou Tan (Hello Ahma) and Talia Zucker (Child).

Joining the Initiative from NBCUniversal’s Global Distribution & International Filmmasters program is Lukas von Berg (L’aria Del Moscerino).

Numa Perrier (Jezebel) joins from ABFF, Jose Maria Cabral (The Projectionist) and Gabriela Calvache (The Longest Night) join from NYLFF, and Dinh Thai (Monday) joins from last year’s NBCUniversal Short Film Festival.

Recent alumni of the Initiative include Gandja Monteiro, who will direct her first feature film with Universal’s Talent Show, executive produced by Lena Waithe, and Sally El Hosaini who is attached to direct Focus Features’ The Swimmers. On the television side, Milena Govich is the first female Producing Director hired for the Dick Wolf-led series FBI and Olivia Newman has directed multiple episodes of NBC’s Chicago Fire.

Since its launch in 2017, GTDI has instated and cultivated additional programs and initiatives outside of the Directors Initiative to identify and develop a pool of creative talent, including Universal Writers Program and Universal Composers Initiative. Alumni of these initiatives have already garnered success on various projects including Omid Ghaffarian from the 2018 Writers Program, who is currently developing an untitled project with Universal Pictures and was the first person in the history of the program to be extended by the studio to continue to develop a script, as well as Amie Doherty, who recently scored Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World short Battle at Big Rock and the DreamWorks Animation short Marooned.  

GTDI’s multi-tiered approach includes developing pipeline talent; tracking creative, below-the-line and workforce talent; providing diversity and inclusion notes and recommendations to production; and leading the studio’s outreach efforts. The department is a resource for all divisions within UFEG including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and DreamWorks Animation, as well as NBCU’s Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. 

About AFI Directing Workshop for Women (DWW)

The AFI Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) is a hands-on training program that mentors female and gender-nonbinary directors intent on revolutionizing their industry. Launched in 1974, the DWW has graduated over 350 alumnae and provides participants with tuition-free classes and support in creating a short film. The DWW, which is open to artists with at least five years of industry experience, includes classes on visual storytelling, the director’s process, ethical leadership, and the current state of the industry.

About Sundance Institute FilmTwo Fellowship

The Sundance Institute FilmTwo Fellowship is a specialized artist development initiative of the Feature Film Program (FFP). The Fellowship provides tailored creative and tactical support focused on career sustainability for writer/directors who have successfully completed a first feature and are at a key inflection point in their careers. The program includes participation in the FilmTwo Intensive, strategic advice in navigating the industry and access to customized year-round support from Sundance Staff and Advisors. In addition, all FilmTwo Fellows will be considered for FFP granting and participation in Labs and activities on an individualized basis and be eligible for the Sundance Institute | Universal Pictures Fellowship.

About NBCUniversal’s Global Distribution & International Filmmasters Program

Now in its 19th year, the Filmmasters program allows international filmmakers the opportunity to broaden their experience by giving them a first-hand look at the physical and creative operation of a major U.S. studio. Each year, an aspiring filmmaker from Italy or Germany is invited to submit their short films falling under the genres of action, crime, thriller, mystery or horror. Hundreds of submissions are received, and through jury selection connected with major local film festivals and awards presentations, a winner is chosen to visit Universal Studios for a one-week learning experience.

About the American Black Film Festival

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to empowering black artists and showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. Committed to the belief that diverse artists deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts, ABFF founder & CEO Jeff Friday conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to strengthen the black filmmaking community by encouraging resource sharing, education and artistic collaboration. He ultimately envisioned it as a cornerstone of diversity in Hollywood. Since its inception, the ABFF has been a platform for emerging black artists, having premiered the early work and showcasing the talent of many of today’s most successful actors, producers, writers, directors and stand-up comedians. Today, the festival is the pre-eminent pipeline for black artists in front of and behind the camera and has significantly expanded the range of talent working in Hollywood. For more information, please visit http://www.abff.com/.

About the New York Latino Film Festival

The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF) is the nation’s premier Urban Latino film event founded by Calixto Chinchilla. Since its inception in 1999, each year, the NYLFF brings together more than 20,000 movie fans and industry executives for a celebration of culturally relevant and entertaining experiences that aims to build audiences for Latino cinema, support the film community with professional development and foster relationships for Latino talent. Programming includes the flagship film festival in New York City, the Futuro digital conference, competition programs, as well as community programs. For more information on NYLFF, please visit www.NYLatinoFilmFestival.com.  To connect with NYLFF on social media, follow us on Facebook (@NYLatinoFilmFestival), Instagram (@NYLatinoFilmFestival), and Twitter (@NYLFF) #NYLFF.