Golden Globe Foundation Grants for SMC Journalism & Film Programs

Golden Globe Foundation Awards Grants to SMC Journalism & Film Programs

Awards Will Support Named Scholarship to Develop Diverse Pipeline of Future Journalists & the Production of Capstone Short Film for College’s Award-Winning Film Program

SANTA MONICA, CA—The Golden Globe Foundation (Foundation) has given the Santa Monica College Foundation two grant awards to support the award-winning Santa Monica College (SMC) film production and journalism programs. The grant awards will support a named scholarship for SMC journalism students to work/intern on the college’s media outlet/newspaper The Corsair, and help fund the film production program’s capstone class “Making the Short Film.”

The $20,000 renewed grant award to SMC’s journalism program and $35,000 to the film production program were part of $5 million overall granted by the Foundation for 96 programs through its philanthropic program, announced on Jan. 5 in Los Angeles, Calif. These donations support a diverse range of nonprofit organizations assisting underserved communities, universities, and colleges. The grants also support film restoration projects in the United States and abroad, as well as programs providing aid and assistance to journalists across the globe. Funding for the philanthropy program comes from revenue generated by broadcasting the Golden Globe® awards show.

In an official press release issued Jan.5 by the Foundation, Board Chair Earl Gibson III stated: “Philanthropy is part of the Golden Globes tradition and history since its founding, and our program has grown to support cultural, educational, artistic, and humanitarian organizations . . . our community has always taken pride in devoting its resources to supporting the broadest range of programs with the most impact especially aimed at underserved communities. We are exceptionally proud of this year’s grantees and the impact they are making.”

Between 2017 and 2024, Santa Monica College Foundation has received $350,000 overall to support the film and journalism programs, as well as the Meal Project which provides currently enrolled SMC students experiencing food insecurity with meals to help them accomplish their educational goals without experiencing severe hunger.

"The dedicated support and recognition by the Golden Globe Foundation is unparalleled,” said SMC Foundation Board Chair Margaret Sohagi. "The film and journalism programs are stronger in part thanks to generosity and commitment to providing exceptional experiential learning and critical financial support for student scholarships. The student experience is elevated with the Golden Globe Foundation as our partner."

The Foundation’s $35,000 fellowship grant to SMC’s film program helps to fund the capstone class, Film 33 (“Making the Short Film”), a hands-on student learning experience in all facets of filmmaking—preproduction, production, and postproduction through film festival submissions—in which students collaborate on a professional-level short film, enabling students to gain ever greater exposure, access to cutting-edge technology, and entry into a career in applied filmmaking. In 2022, Moviemaker Magazine ranked the SMC film program as one of the 40 best film schools in the U.S. and Canada, and one of the top 12 in the U.S. West and Northwest alongside Stanford University, USC, and UCLA. The college supports traditionally underrepresented students by offering a high-quality education at a fraction of the cost of many four-year filmmaking programs.

The SMC student short films funded by the Foundation have won major awards and been invited to prestigious festivals both in the U.S. and overseas. These include “Out of Touch” (Best Short Film, Prague Independent Film Festival), “The Attempt” (Best Short Film, Vienna Independent Film Festival), “Broken Layers” (Best Student Film; The American Pavilion’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcaseat 2021 Cannes Film Festival), and “Leaving the Factory” (Winner, Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum), “The War Within” (Best Student Film, California Women’s Film Festival), among others. To learn more about SMC’s film production program, visit smc.edu/film.

The scholarships for SMC’s journalism program has funded 14 scholarships thus far for low-income students to develop real-world experience by working as part of The Corsair’s staff. Members of The Corsair—which helps students develop storytelling techniques and think critically in real-world settings—are required to commit a minimum of 20 hours per week (for reporters) and up to 40 hours per week (for managing editors). Most SMC students are not able to sacrifice the opportunity for paid work needed to commit to serving on the newspaper. Scholarships targeted to low-income students have enabled a more diverse range of talented journalism students to engage in this important academic and career development opportunity.

Of the 14 students who have received a named scholarship from the Foundation, several have moved on to four-year universities including UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, and CSU LA, CSU Long Beach, and CSUN while some have produced media content for outlets including The Forward, 70 Faces Media, KPFK 90.7 FM, AfroLA, YR Media, and the City of Hawthorne and more. To learn more about The Corsair and the journalism program, see: smc.edu/journalism. The Corsair is online at thecorsaironline.com.

Alongside Santa Monica College, other higher education institutions receiving support include Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge, Cerritos College Foundation, Feirstein School of Cinema at Brooklyn College, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Valley College, Loyola Marymount University, Mt. San Antonio College, California Institute of the Arts, UCLA, Southwestern Law School and the American Film Institute.

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About the Golden Globe Foundation:

The Golden Globe Foundation was formed in 2023 following the sale of the Golden Globes to Eldridge Globes, LLC. The proceeds of that sale and existing resources of the organization allow the Foundation to continue a long history of entertainment-related charitable giving. The Foundation and its predecessor, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have long supported a diverse range of nonprofit organizations assisting underserved communities, universities, and colleges, film restoration projects in the United States and overseas,and programs providing aid and assistance to journalists across the globe. Over the last three decades, the licensing fees from the Golden Globe Awards have enabled these organizations to make donations of more than $55 million to these charities. For more information, contact: Greg Goeckner, media@GoldenGlobes.org

About Santa Monica College:

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For 33 consecutive years, SMC has been California’s leading transfer college to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and other University of California campuses. The college also tops in transfers to the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University and is the top feeder west of the Mississippi to the Ivy League Columbia University. As the leading job trainer in Los Angeles’s Westside, the college offers robust career education opportunities, with over 110 degrees and certificates in traditional and emerging fields. SMC provides news and cultural enrichment through its NPR radio station KCRW (89.9 FM), the Eli & Edythe Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, and lifelong learning through distinctive programs such as its Emeritus Program for older adults.