Madeline Tondi found her passion for filmmaking at California State University, Los Angeles, where the undergraduate program she is on the verge of completing has received a large grant to increased diversity in the industry and advance film as a vehicle for social change.
International modern and contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth has given Cal State LA’s Department of Television, Film & Media a five-year, $1-million grant to support student mentorship and employment, faculty support and development and purchasing equipment and software.
More than 500 students are earning a bachelor’s degree in television, film and media studies.
“Our school largely gets first-generation and working-class students and students of color, and it’s always been hard for them to embrace their own stories,” said Dr. John Ramirez, a professor and the department chair for 30 years. “This program empowers them to do that.”
Tondi is an example.
When the New Jersey native arrived at the school, she knew she wanted to study theater and photography but wasn’t excited about many of the monotonous technical aspects of the field.
But during her sophomore year in 2017, a new undergraduate course titled Community Impact Media brought her opportunities to direct. Last year she directed her first film, “Uncaged,” a documentary about a Cal State initiative in which education students go to the only state prison in Los Angeles County and instruct inmates who are working toward a bachelor’s degree – even though they are serving life sentences without parole.
