Adobe launches film and TV merger fund with $6 million commitment – The Hollywood Reporter
Adobe’s Stacy Martinet (left) and NAACP’s Kyle Bowser
Elijah S. Savenok/Getty Images; Corey Nichols/Getty Images
Adobe and the Adobe Foundation are committing $6 million to launch a film and TV fund to help underrepresented creators early in their careers.
The Adobe Film & TV Fund will support the work of existing nonprofits serving historically excluded communities, with the inaugural group of recipients including eastseals, Gold House, Latinx House, NAACP, Sundance Institute, and youth-focused Indian Yuvaa. The goal is to help secure scholarships, apprenticeships, mentorship and other programs that provide hands-on industry training as well as help them directly fund their constituents’ projects.
“Diversity in front of and behind the camera is key to unlocking more diverse and inclusive stories across TV and film,” said Stay Martin, Adobe’s vice president of marketing and communications strategy, who is also a member of the Adobe Foundation’s Board of Directors. statement. “With the new Film & TV Fund, Adobe looks to leverage its leadership position in the creative industry to open new opportunities for underrepresented creators.”
The first program supported by the Adobe Fund is the NAACP Editing Fellowship, a 14-week experience that will include post-production training through masterclasses, mentorship and workplace rotations, as well as access to Adobe Creative Cloud. Applications will open January 18 on the NAACP website, with selection of the four fellows beginning in May.
“Equity is important, and those of us who sit in positions of power and authority must help identify solutions to promote diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the lens,” Kyle Bowser, senior vice president of the NAACP’s Hollywood office, said in a statement. statement. “It is an honor to work with a like-minded partner in Adobe, who shows up to the table with ideas and resources that make a tangible impact.”
Other Adobe efforts to help diversify the industry include partnerships with Sundance (Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, launched in 2015, and Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellowship, launched in 2020) and USC (Annenberg Initiative short film inclusion and funding list). . in the MFA Acting program).
