Help Sika get her MFA at AFIC
This August I will begin graduate school at the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles to pursue an MFA in Cinematography. I've been working towards this goal for many years and I'm getting closer to my dream!
I'm a self-taught filmmaker and have been working at it for 8 years now. It wasn't until the summer of 2020 that I finally saw pictures and could watch zoom Q+As of other camera women who looked like me and who were doing the job I wanted. There are approximately 2 Black women DPs (Director of Photography) and 4 Black women camera operators in the Local 600 camera union out of 8000+ members. This count is based on my own search for Black women in the industry - there may be more but as you can see representation is overwhelmingly small and it will be quite a challenge to navigate. I'm already a member of International Cinematographer's Guild Local 600 as a DUT (Digital Utility Tech) and would like to add myself to their numbers someday.
I've shot and/or directed work for large brands, many nonprofits large and small, Oregon Public Broadcasting and more. In 2018, I participated in the pilot year of the Oregon Media Pathways program and in 2019 - I was awarded a Rising Star Award from Oregon Media Production Association. I do volunteer work on diversifying the film industry in Portland and will continue to organize more opportunities for underrepresented people to join the industry as I go. Each project where I get to explore my voice and my vision makes me want to keep going. Each project where I get to create opportunity for black and brown people to learn filmmaking skills and make a living makes me want to keep going. No one can tell our stories better than we can and we have so many stories to tell!
You can view a portfolio of my current storytelling work here: www.sikastanton.com.
Tuition, L.A. rent, and immediate accrual of student loan interest present a large hurdle to overcome. I was granted some scholarship funds, received some interest deferred loans, and have some savings but not enough to cover the costs. So, I'm setting up this gofundme in search of those who might want to financially support my attempt to climb further up the film industry. I set the goal for the remaining total needed to cover my two years in the program - however any level achieved will help reduce my student loans and the interest accrued on said loans.
The class schedule is such that working a job during the program is not possible - the student loans cover both tuition and living expenses. Here's a break down of the costs left to cover from 2021 to 2023:
- Tuition - $61,000
- Production Materials & Fees - $7,375
- Estimated Room & Board - $31,000
- Supplies - $9,000
- Transportation - $5,400
- Misc. / Loan Fees - $12,444
Total: $126,219
One of the reasons I was attracted to the AFI program was the opportunity to work with 35mm film. I began my photographic journey shooting and processing film for still photography and I'm excited to try my hand at motion picture film while the tools are still available.
If you aren't able to contribute, please consider sharing my gofundme with your social networks - every bit helps ya girl out!
I'm so excited to discover what I can do in this program and am determined to succeed. Asking people for money is weird and awkward - however this mission is by any means necessary. Your support would mean so much!
Thanks so much for your time and reading this far!
**If gofundme isn't your thing - Venmo & Cashapp are also a plus!**
Venmo: $Sika-Stanton / CashApp: $SikaSika