Academy Launches Inclusive Mentorship Program ‘Academy Gold’

Disney, Dolby, Paramount Pictures and more on board to sponsor interns from “underrepresented communities”

Academy Gold Initiative

The film academy is launching a new mentorship program for students and young professionals from “underrepresented communities,” AMPAS said on Wednesday, called Academy Gold.

The governing body of the Oscars has recruited top entertainment companies — including major studios Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Sony —  to sponsor three interns each for the inaugural program.

Academy Gold aims to build a network of diverse talent from which “top film entertainment, technology, production services and digital media companies” can hire. It begins in June with 50 participants, 15 of whom will be working within the Academy itself, and spans eight weeks.

Additional companies FotoKem, FremantleMedia, HBO, IMAX, Lionsgate/Starz, Panavision, Participant Media and Technicolor.

“I am proud that the Academy is taking proactive steps in building partnerships within the entertainment industry to move the needle on talent development and inclusion,” Nancy Utley, Academy governor and president of Fox Searchlight Pictures, said in a statement.

“The Academy is in a unique position to tap into and encourage its nearly 7,000 members to become involved mentors,” said Edgar Aguirre, the Academy’s director of talent development and inclusion.

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