Riverwood International Charter School, a Fulton public high school in Sandy Springs, has become one of the first schools to partner with the Georgia Film Academy to teach high school students film industry skills.
The school plans to roll out a film program this spring, the school said.
J.C. Futrell, Riverwood’s audio visual technology and film teacher, was one of 30 Fulton County teachers to participate in a Georgia Film Academy pilot program for high school teachers this summer, according to a press release. Over 10 days, the program taught teachers the high school curriculum created by GFA and techniques to make films.
Industry professionals helped GFA create the standardized film curriculum for high school students. GFA will provide professional-grade equipment to Riverwood so Futrell can teach students the curriculum, the press release said.
The executive director of GFA, Jeff Stepakoff, has announced at forums and other public events that the program was planning to roll out a high school curriculum. He said in a press release that it is an obvious choice to train high school students because they have grown up with video technology.
“Interest in film is rampant throughout the state. We are addressing that at the college level, but starting to get our heads around the high school level. We have two million high school students in our state. They’re making movies; they’re making them on their iPhones. Why are we not bringing them into the fold?” Stepakoff said in a press release.