Producers Guild of America Renews PGA Create Lab Program for Second Year
The Producers Guild of America has renewed PGA Create, a lab program for early-career creative producers from underrepresented backgrounds, for its second year.
The program’s first year saw 35 fellows divided into two cohorts, for scripted and documentary producing, spend several days hearing from industry professionals and present their projects to PGA’s creative producers. The lab ended with five of the fellows becoming Guild members and one of the fellows receiving the guild’s Producers Mark for an upcoming documentary release.
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The second year of PGA Create will see the scripted cycle takes place in November of this year, while the documentary cycle will take place sometime in the Spring. Applications opened on Thursday and close on July 22. Accepted applicants will be invited to take part in special programming throughout the year. Although the program is held virtually, all fellows will be invited to participate in an in-person PGA Create forum held during the guild’s annual Produced By Conference in Summer 2023.
The PGA Create program was developed by One Guild, a PGA initiative that creates internal programs to address the needs of underrepresented groups in the entertainment industry and producing world. Google serves as the lead sponsor of PGA Create, in a partnership that was initially brokered by United Talent Agency’s entertainment and culture marketing division, which represents the tech giant.
“PGA Create proves that supplying emerging producers with the right tools and guidance can create amazing results,” Tonya Lewis Lee and Lori McCreary, chairs of PGA’s One Guild, said in a statement. “One Guild puts into action the Producers Guild’s commitment to inclusive membership, employment, content, and authentic depictions. We are immensely grateful for the generous support of Google in building PGA Create into an invaluable community that unites and supports the next generation of vibrant creative producers.”
Elle Roth-Brunet, Google’s head of entertainment partnerships, said the program is aligned with the tech giant’s commitment “to support diverse and underrepresented voices, and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with the Producers Guild and the PGA Create program, and of course, meeting the next cohort of impressive participants.”
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