This summer, Hollywood film figures David Sacks, David N. Weiss and Jason Venokur will be offering a three-week fellowship for young Jews interested in filmmaking. During the course of the August program, students will eat, sleep and dream Jewish life, hobnob with luminaries of Los Angeles’s film industry, and learn the nuts and bolts of creating Internet film “shorts.”

The students will make three short films to be distributed on the Internet: an Israel advocacy piece, an audio-visual “D’var Torah” (mini-sermon on the weekly Torah portion) and a personal statement drawn from the Jewish ethical teachings gleaned from the summer’s Jewish study.

“The idea is basically to take about 15 talented, creative college students or film students, bring them to L.A., bring in all these Hollywood producers and let them get to work. And we’ll teach them — we’ll really hone their work,” said Sacks. “And hopefully we’ll have a few dozen incredibly professional pieces that we can just get out there.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“It’s definitely going to come from a Jewish place,” he added, “But [the films] will have a universal appeal.”

And the three founders know something about universal appeal: Sacks, currently a producer on “Malcolm in the Middle,” won an Emmy for his work on “The Simpsons,” Venokur is the former executive producer of “3rd Rock from the Sun” and Weiss wrote the screenplay for “Shrek 2,” which opened last week.

The program — with a budget of $50,000 — is accepting applications on a rolling basis until June 15. Fifteen fellowships will be awarded. Applications can be found on the Web site, www.JewishImpactFilms.com.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount