Amazon Studios invests in programs to grow behind-the-camera talent that includes individuals from historically excluded communities. Amazon Studios focuses on initiatives that support individuals from historically excluded communities at all stages of the career pipeline — from entry level to experienced professionals. We support primary, secondary and post-secondary education initiatives to prepare today’s students for entertainment industry careers. For experienced professionals, we have several initiatives to increase access and build more pathways to the entertainment industry and Amazon Studios.
Programs & Pathways
Launched in January 2020, Amazon Studios and Howard University, a leading Historically Black College and University, have partnered on the Howard Entertainment Program, powered by Amazon Studios.
This industry first partnership offers a one-of-a-kind educational and hands-on learning experience for Howard University students and creates a pipeline for future Black/African Americans executives in entertainment.
Howard Entertainment Program accepts students studying film, public relations, marketing, fine arts, and law. The program includes a spring semester where students take entertainment-related courses and a summer semester where they work in film via a paid internship. The program is fully accredited and courses count toward students’ graduation requirements.
The future of creative talent hinges on equitable access to opportunities in the film and entertainment industry. Amazon Studios will expand its talent pipeline program beyond Howard University to include a Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) in the coming years.
Amazon Studios is the exclusive sponsor of the Latino Film Institute’s Youth Cinema Project (YCP) Alumni Program for the 2022-2023 school year. YCP’s Alumni program connects over 300 students to hands-on access and learning opportunities across the industry including mentoring and assistance with college applications. The sponsorship also includes the inaugural YCP Fellowship Initiative, which will provide 15 college bound students with resources to make a high-quality short film to strengthen their film school applications and scholarship opportunities. The film will then screen at The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in 2023. The Latino Film Institute is the umbrella organization founded by Edward James Olmos that runs three impactful programs: YCP, LALIFF, and LatinX in Animation.
Amazon Studios is also continuing our support of local non-profit LA Collab to build the LTX Match platform at the ground level. The AI enabled platform will use technology to connect Hispanic/Latine talent at scale with jobs, mentorship, boards, capital and community, at all levels from the Hollywood ecosystem, helping to address the all-too-common statement “we can’t find Latinos to work in entertainment.”
