Valdosta State University (VSU) students will now have the option to to study with the Georgia Film Academy (GFA). This new partnership will open doors to many internships and future job opportunities as VSU’s mass media students can gain real life production experience working in one of the top film industries in the world.

“My belief is that mass media students learn skills that translate well to the film industry, as well as television, radio, and social media. GFA provides more specific skills for the film industry to fill immediate needs,” explained VSU professor and Director of the South Georgia Film Festival Jason Brown.  

VSU has not officially announced when the course offerings will become available to their students, but introductory classes are expected to commence during the 2024-2025 school year. 

Since its creation in 2015, the GFA has played a critical role in fulfilling the growing demand for a well-trained, film industry workforce. They provide certifications for production, post-production, game development, and Esports as well as assist many Georgia schools in the creation of film training and education programs.

The GFA’s educational collaborators include the recent addition of VSU along with the University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, and many others. Students at these universities can register for classes like Film and Television Production and Post-Production, Costume Design, Game Development, and Digital Entertainment among others.

“Besides the partnership with the universities and technical colleges, we partner with industry. We put students on their shows that they bring here to Georgia for production. That’s been very meaningful. We also have a partnership with the unions and put students on covered craft internships that have been transformative because it gets students that real world experience as well as basically a working job interview,” added C. Scott Votaw, the Assistant Vice Chancellor of the GFA.