Shaftesbury, an award-winning producer and distributor of original content, and Shaftesbury U.S. head Maggie Murphy today announced a multi-year gift to benefit the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s prestigious Producers Program.
Shaftesbury production executives will offer guidance and assist students in creating television and digital projects, working with them from concept to completion. The gift will supply UCLA TFT students with the materials needed to develop these projects. As part of Shaftesbury’s support, UCLA TFT will also have access to the company’s extensive list of global content industry experts to mentor the graduate producing students.
In addition to the multi-year gift, Shaftesbury U.S. has awarded grants to the four student semi-finalists of the Producers Marketplace from this year’s UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s 23rd Annual Film Festival. The marketplace is an annual year-end gala hosted by the Producers Program and marks the culmination of the academic year. Four graduating students were selected to pitch their feature film and television projects to top-tier industry judges in front of a live audience. This year’s judges included Nancy Utley, president of Fox Searchlight, literary agent Rich Green and film/television producer Scott Aversano. This year’s winner was Caddy Pantida Vanasirikul, who pitched her television project Ladyboy, about a transgender girl who moves to New York City to build an authentic life as a real woman with the help of her eccentric friends.
Murphy, who also teaches at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, said “UCLA TFT’s Producers Program is unparalleled in its scope and influence in the global entertainment industry. The few that are chosen to participate, receive the personal attention and mentorship essential to succeed in this highly competitive industry. On behalf of everyone at Shaftesbury, we are pleased to sponsor this incredible program and extend more opportunities to talented, emerging storytellers.”
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of this generous donation by Maggie Murphy and Shaftesbury,” stated Denise Mann, head of the UCLA TFT Producers Program. “With the help of Ms. Murphy and our other key television creators, executives, producers and cutting-edge media scholars teaching in the UCLA TFT Producers Program, the department has been able to be responsive to the renaissance taking place in the television industry.”
The UCLA TFT Producers Program is a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree program designed for individuals pursuing careers as creative producers or executives. Established in 1984, the program is now ranked among the top graduate schools in creative producing in the United States. The program’s faculty consists of world-class studio and network presidents, Oscar- and Emmy-winning producers, entertainment lawyers and agents, and internationally renowned scholars.
Only 15 students are admitted each year to the UCLA TFT Producers Program, giving each one a chance to grow personally and professionally. These students are culled from the global filmmaking community and have interned at studios, agencies or in production companies; have optioned material and are working with screenwriters; have produced several shorts or low-budget features; or have worked in some capacity in the entertainment industry. Producers Program alumni are found throughout the entertainment industry and include Vanessa Morrison, president of Fox Animation Studios; Kevin Messick, executive producer of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Jack Reacher; and Beatrice Springborn, head of originals at Hulu.
In Canada, Shaftesbury is a long-term supporter of the Etobicoke School of the Arts Film Program and the Canadian Film Centre, the country’s foremost school for advanced training and production in film, television and digital media.
