14:46 PST 25/01/2021
by
Etan Vlessing
ASU debuts the Sidney Poitier New American Film School as an “egalitarian” institution that aims to include and not exclude students of color and first generation families.
Legendary actor Sidney Poitier leaned his name and reputation on Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School amid plans to establish campuses in three cities in Arizona and California.
By having Oscar winner Poitier – who in 1964 became the first black winner of the best actor Oscar for the Arizona recording Lilies of the field – Asu gives his name to his film school. ASU wants to show that the institution includes and does not exclude students of color and first generation immigrants.
“We have decided to grow the institution and diversify the institution by not becoming more selective, because selectivity creeps into social disruption in a negative way,” said Michael Crow, president of ASU. THRand adds that Poitier symbolizes the pursuit of inclusion and diversity of ASU by coming to Hollywood and movie stars as an immigrant, through New York City and the Bahamas.
“[Poitier] was born in Miami but really grew up in the Bahamas. He then comes to this country, he finds his way, he finds his art, and it’s all through work and effort and creativity, and that’s what we strive for, ‘says Crow.
Lionsgate ASU alumnus and vice president Michael Burns recalls when the university first purchased the historic Herald Examiner building in Los Angeles as part of a planned expansion to film school and indicated by Crow that they had not yet had to name the new facility. “I said, ‘What about Sidney Poitier? “He was the first name that came to mind,” Burns said, adding that years before he had met the screen legend and his wife during a dinner with Sherry Lansing and her husband William Friedkin.
“[Poitier] is one of the most elegant men I have ever met in my life, and wickedly smart. symbol of ASU’s mission of diversity and innovation for the institution.
In the fall of 2022, ASU Film School will move to a new facility in downtown Mesa, Arizona, while also working from the new Los Angeles facility. Sidney Poitier New American Film School students also gain hands-on experience with Hollywood technology through partnerships with, among others, the John Hughes Institute and Dreamscape Immersive, the virtual reality company.