From a week at a private residence in Jamaica to a photo by Cannes Lion-winning photographer Shin Sugino to tickets for Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs games, POV 3rd Street‘s auction will have many surprises.
The auction, which launched today will close at February 9 at 6 p.m. Founded in 2007 by members of the film, TV and commercial production industry, POV 3rd Street provides education, training and mentorship for marginalized youth interested in breaking into the film and media industry.
This will be the first time the non-profit is principal fundraising online in order to raise funds for its flagship, six-month media training program.
The auction brings together members of Toronto’s creative community, who donate prizes and services. This year’s auction features more than 120 items including items donated by industry partners Corus Entertainment, the Ontario Media and Development Corp, Cassels Brock, the RBC Foundation’s Film and Media Division, Buck Productions, William F. White, Radke Film Group, Stealing Time Editing, and Jigsaw Casting.
The program is aimed at youth who are interested in film production, but may not be able to easily access the opportunity because of family, racial or economic barriers. The media training program includes a combination of job skills such as leadership and mindfulness, and production skills including working a camera, writing scripts, directing and sound design.
The youth also collaborate to produce a film and after completion are given paid internships (three months full time or six months part-time) to get a taste of what it’s like to work in the field.
“Now when they’re creating their reels, the participants can say they’ve directed an RBC commercial,” says POV 3rd Street executive director Agapi Gessesse, in a release. “We’re not just training them – we’re helping them launch their careers.”
The program’s 60 volunteers and mentors include a mix of established industry figures and alumni who are a few years into their production careers.
“The program manager is an alumnus and we always bring people back as teaching assistants,” added Gessesse. “The community piece of the program is so important because recent alumni are able to come back and offer the kind of advice that may not be obvious to someone who has been in the business for years.”
The media training program has a graduation rate of 87%, with more than 71% of graduates still actively engaged with the organization. 62% alumni are working in the film and media industry as a direct result of their participation, and another 13% are working in related fields.
After graduation, the organization also continues working with alumni by joining the roster of POV Productions, a social enterprise production company. Through this program, students will have the chance to produce in-house videos for RBC Wealth Management, the press release explained.
DIVERGE talked to the team to find out more about the organization and its work:
Who is the team behind the organization?
There is a small team behind the POV 3rd Street organization and although small each member takes a huge responsibility on making POV 3rd Street better each day. Agapi Gessesse is our Executive Director and in only two short years has dramatically expanded the organization’s operations from a 12-week Filmmaking Program to that of a Multi-Program offering paid internship placements, work and mentorship opportunities and continued professional opportunity. Agapi oversees everything that is POV 3rd Street, and with her leadership, POV 3rd Street has grown exponentially. Gabrielle Zilkha is the producer that heads up our in-house production company, POV Productions and designs programming and curriculum as our Director of Programming. Dwayne Holness and Danny Sedore are the Program Managers who facilitate our flagship Media Training Program. With their experience and wisdom of the film industry, this amazing duo is unstoppable.
Why did they choose to help at-risk youth? How do you help them get jobs in media industries?
Breaking into the media industry is extremely hard for anyone – even the most well-connected of people. Harder still to stay in the media industry and navigate your way along a career path. That being said, all things are not equal. We must recognize that there are systemic barriers that place members of some communities (i.e. people of color, native peoples, LGBT youth, youth from low-income households, recent immigrants,) at a significantly greater disadvantage than others when it comes to entering and navigating the media industry. This is why POV exists. We believe that the talent and creative potential of marginalized and at-risk youth are valuable and our industry would benefit from their contribution. This is why we want to work with them to overcome some of the barriers that stand in their way. We do this in a few ways: firstly through training and education. Most notably, every year we offer a 6-month content foundational media skills program called the Media Training Program. Those who have graduated from this program are privy to continued workshops and opportunities for professional development in a variety of areas in the industry.
Secondly, we offer career support services in the form of mentorships, job placement, crew calls and internship support.
Thirdly, we hire our own alumni through our social enterprise production company POV Productions which produces small-scale branded content and marketing videos for clients. This provides a paid outlet for our alumni to gain work experience and continued training and mentorship.
How can others contribute/help?
At POV 3rd Street we believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We rely on the generosity of our donors and sponsors to provide what they can to help shape a uniquely innovative program that creates substantial opportunities for marginalized youth. By donating or volunteering items/services, your support will change the trajectory of their lives towards economic empowerment and meaningful employment. Donations help ensure the sustainability and growth of our programming. Your sponsorship will help support youth through our core Media Training Program.
Do graduates come back to help current students?
Many graduates of the POV 3rd Street program come back and help current students. An important aspect of POV 3rd Street’s program is the mentorship that we offer our students. Since 2009 we’ve engaged an array of industry professionals and POV Alumni in our program, that help current POV 3rd Street participants.
We wouldn’t be where we are without the invaluable direction, support and volunteering of our alumni community. We have often found that our POV alumni are the best at mentoring and teaching current students. The connection is undeniable.
Even outside the classroom, we find that when more experienced POV Alumni are working with less experienced POV Alumni, they’ll take the time to teach them what they know and guide them in the new work setting.
One of our current Program Managers, Dwayne Holness, who facilitates the program is, in fact, an Alumni! We’re thrilled to have him leading the current cohort of students.
Why did you decide to open this agency and what went into it?
POV 3rd Street was established in 2007 by members of the film, TV and commercial production industries who were interested in increasing access to employment in their field and broadening its diversity. POV 3rd Street believes that working in the media industry should not be a privilege afforded only to those who have the means, resources and networks to break in.
What do the students learn?
POV 3rd Street ‘s training program not only equips our students with valuable technical skills for the film industry but also imparts critical thinking and soft skills that they might not otherwise learn to continue to grow in the Media Industry.
From the Media Training Program Students learn a mix of basic technical, creative and soft skills highly in demand in a“creative class” economy. They are also given an introduction to the value chains of various sectors of the industry like advertising, film, and television. Let’s use “production” for example. We aim not only to provide an introduction to the different technical skills that would be required for different roles on set, we aim to examine the group dynamics and etiquette that allows productions to run smoothly, we aim to explore the career path for each role and to help contextualize production as one part of a larger process of producing content.
Unique as well to the MTP offering is our emphasis on soft skills development through weekly Critical Thinking Sessions. Designed and led by graduates of the Harvard School of Leadership, the Critical Thinking Sessions use awareness training to provide participants with concrete tools to enhance their communication, negotiation, goal management, and leadership skills.
After the Media Training Program, alumni have the chance to learn about certain areas of the industry or certain skills in more depth. But for the MTP we like to keep a wide overview.
Where are you getting the items?
With the help of our amazing Auction Committee chaired by Bruce Young, board members, donors, and sponsors POV 3rd Street receives a generous amount of items and support.
