A Partnership to Train Young Film Professionals In Houston

City of Houston, Local School Districts Develop Workforce Training for Film Students

Houston, Texas | November 20, 2019

Lynn Birdwell: Welcome to the Bird Feed Podcast, and I'm here with Juliet Stipeche from the City of Houston. She's the Director of Education. Welcome.

Juliet Stipeche: Thank you.

Lynn Birdwell: Juliet, tell me what you do.

Juliet Stipeche: Well, it's the new position that was created by Mayor Sylvester Turner in February of 2016. The mayor wanted to have someone at the city that was going to be able to be transformative and innovative and making sure that education is something that is consistently thought of in the minds of Houstonians. We created an office that assists with collaboration, coordination, and communication amongst the various educational entities in the City of Houston, and my goodness, there are certainly a lot.

Lynn Birdwell: So, you're dealing with kids as they go through school. Is that all the way through college?

Juliet Stipeche: Yes. We work these kids from early childhood education, the K through 12 system, and also higher education and workforce development and training. We cover the full gamut from cradle to career as they described it.

Lynn Birdwell: This podcast is primarily about film production and the production industry in Houston, but also just the entire creative industry economy that we have here in Houston. So, I know that in some of the schools, just found out recently, have some wonderful production studio sets set up for those kids to start that process. Tell me about those.

Juliet Stipeche: There's some amazing programs at the elementary, middle school and high school levels for young people to have an opportunity to experience what it's like to be in the film and art career fields. You have some places that literally have full-fledged studios that are operated by young people, and they write, produce, edit, and learn cutting edge technology that they're able to use and have access to.

I have worked with some schools that have produced some short films and documentaries that went on to receive prizes at the state level. At one high school, I worked with the group of young people and they created a documentary called The Other Side of Town, and it was extraordinarily influential on my perspective of serving as a school board member.

Lynn Birdwell: These programs, do these kids have an opportunity to have a vocational outcome and stay in Houston? That's my goal.

Juliet Stipeche: Well, I think that's how we can sit and talk about how we can better connect those that are in the industry to those that are aspiring towards being in that industry. I think young people are consistently looking for mentors and role models, and we know that the pace of the economy and transformation of things occurs so quickly that it's really important for schools to connect to those leaders in the community that actually know what's going on in their industry because sometimes the children may get something that is outdated. So, we want them to be learning what they need to know the most of in order to be able to connect and get that career in the film industry that they so desire, and that really requires building social capital, knowing the right people, and connecting to people such as yourself.

Lynn Birdwell: You had a sister who went to one of our very famous art schools here in Houston, the High School of Visual and Performing Arts. Tell me about how that was for her.

Juliet Stipeche: My sister, she never had an opportunity to take a formal art class, but she always had a passion to draw, and my parents always encouraged her. My dad would buy books and she would try everything with crayons and pencils and poster boards. She was accepted into the High School for Performing and Visual Arts because they saw that she had natural talent. It was something that allowed me to see a larger world, as well. Visiting HPV was just an amazing experience. My sister says that if weren't not for art, she does not know where she would be today. Art is transformative.

Lynn Birdwell: And, I heard someone say, I was at an event this week, and one of the major patrons, it was a theater event, and he said, “theater is so important, we cannot let it die. There are certain times, and we are in those times now where sometimes art is the only way we can communicate.”

Juliet Stipeche: Absolutely. I think that's something that my sister told me, too. She was like, “there are moments in my life when art was the only way that I could find the most satisfactory way of expressing myself.” I think that working collaboratively in using the creative expression, it's an opportunity for those that are vulnerable and voiceless to be heard. It's also important for young people to have a creative expressive outlet. It's important to be able to develop the mindset of, of older people that may not be familiar with a particular community. Art on so many different ways is truly transformative in terms of its method of communication but also creation. It is truly something that allows a person to feel a sense of, of self-motivation, of, of just being able to create something that is able to exist in the world and to be able to share that with others is very transformative and empowering for young people.

Lynn Birdwell: It is, and I was talking with someone at the UN this week who said that they thought in communities all over the world, the arts were where additional jobs can be created for people who may not be good fits for other kinds of jobs, help them grow in other ways. That's another conversation, too. So, film from my perspective as an economic industry, but it's also an art form. And, only through the schools I think can we start our city thinking that way?

Juliet Stipeche: I agree. I think you're truly a visionary in recognizing that the pipeline starts, whether it be Pre-K or elementary, you know, young people, the longer they have an opportunity to have rich access to the arts and be able to talk to industry experts, the reality of joining and becoming a part of the film industry is a reality. The arts are extraordinarily important in developing this unique perspective and being able to create, but also being able to connect to the economic opportunity that allows one to then be able to have the capital and the support to be able to turn their art pieces into things that can bring job opportunities and investments into the community, as well. We want it to be win-win and what's the best way for us to be able to allow the workforce pipeline to develop in the most appropriate way? It's coordinating and connecting industry mavens and leaders to the young people so they have examples and role models for which to follow.

Lynn Birdwell: It also gives them places to go directly to immediately after their education instead of thinking they have to go to Hollywood, they have to go to New York, so they can see that they can create here. Thank you so much for being with us today.

Juliet Stipeche: It's been a pleasure and an honor. And you know, one of the mayor's initiatives is the Hire Houston Youth program. We would love to see how we can try to get some more collaboration for young people to be able to work in the film industry. Let us know. We'd love to partner.

Lynn: This will be all for Houston. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.