Our Programs
Our programs provide healing-centered, trauma-informed filmmaking instruction to first-time filmmakers and mid-career artists alike, ages 10 - 40. Our main goal is to increase visibility and job accessibility for underrepresented, low-income local filmmakers, particularly women of color, LGBTQAI+, former foster youth, and survivors of gender-based violence. We create safe spaces through our community-based approach.
Our programs focus on providing participants with the skills they need to succeed in the industry, with the final goal of transforming and populating the TV industry with advocates of gender equality and racial justice.
PA Certification Program
Production Assistant Certification Program: A 100-hour job-training certification program geared towards working adults entering the TV & film industry. Through this program we provide 30 participants with their first paid job in the industry annually. In the past year alone, we have been able to place 40 participants on 29 BIPOC-led productions for 1,886 combined hours. Participants of this program have gone on to receive job placement on shows like HBO’s Ballers, HBO’s Euphoria, and Dreamworks Studios.
Justice for My Sister is now accepting applications from BIPOC-led productions in Los Angeles that seek sponsorship from our PA Job Placement initiative. Apply below.
Afterschool Arts Program
We provide healing-centered art classes to youth ages 10-18 throughout Los Angeles County in partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Our classes include filmmaking, theater, painting, and music classes for youth as part of a holistic effort to increase student leadership and prevent violence in our communities.
Watch the recap of our Summer 2021 filmmaking class with Roosevelt Park:
Video Diaries
We provide instruction, technical support, and one-on-one mentorship for participants to tell their own story in a 5-minute video diary. This program began as a partnership with PBS SoCal’s social impact initiative “To Foster Change” to give former foster youth, ages 15-25, the opportunity to broadcast their personal films. Through this program, we have worked with 160 former foster youth, 24 of which have gone on to produce personal short films.
Watch one of our student’s films: Reeves’s Video Diary!
Black, Indigenous, People of Color Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab
A competitive incubator, where selected fellows conceive of sci-fi and fantasy TV show concepts and author the pilot episode of their show with one-on-one mentorship support. Our graduates will pitch their concepts to TV executives in meetings that JFMS curates. Learn more about our cohort’s below.
Watch a recap of the first iteration of the BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab:
Nuevas Novelas
A 100-hour job-training summer intensive for teens of color, ages 13-18, includes media literacy and film production training.
Listen to a podcast developed by our students in 2020:
Parks After Dark
We provide community art events throughout Los Angeles County in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the Parks After Dark (PAD) summer program. Our workshops have included drumming lessons, mandala making, danza azteca, and ballet folklorico. The classes are open to community members of all ages and are designed to reclaim public space with intention. Stay tuned for 2023 Parks After Dark programming.
To stay up-to-date with other programs, including: TV Pitching Workshops, Take Back the Night and Job Placement opportunities, visit our social media accounts for more information.
There are many ways you can support our work:
Our programs are designed to advocate for change and remove the barriers that keep women and people of color from entering the TV & film industry.