November 27, 2007 - The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, the Independent Feature Project (IFP) and the City University of New York (CUNY) recently announced "NextGenNYC," a new initiative to promote and celebrate emerging filmmakers graduating from CUNY. Designed to elevate industry awareness of the City’s diverse talent pool, the program will allow recent graduates from film and digital media programs at CUNY schools to showcase their work through IFP and be eligible for a juried cash prize. Mayor Bloomberg announced the new program at the 17th Annual Gotham Awards ceremony at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.

"New York City is home to some of the most talented people in the world, and we're thrilled to be able to give these hard-working CUNY students the exposure they so richly deserve," said Commissioner Katherine Oliver of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. "As part of the Mayor’s Task Force on Diversity in Film, Television, and Commercial Production, our hope is that 'NextGenNYC' will promote diversity in the entertainment industry by showcasing the variety of talent this city has to offer."

"Through Independent Film Week and the Gotham Awards, IFP is pleased to provide a highly visible platform to introduce the public and the film industry to the City’s next generation of content creators," said IFP Executive Director Michelle Byrd.

"We commend Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Oliver on their exemplary leadership in helping to create important educational and career building opportunities. CUNY will do its part by encouraging our talented and ambitious students to participate and by providing appropriate academic support," said CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein.

As part of "NextGenNYC," students completing their thesis work from Brooklyn College, City College, and the College of Staten Island, will be able to submit their thesis films for selection in an IFP-showcase to take place in September during Independent Film Week (September 14 – 19, 2008).

In addition, the films that take part in the showcase will be eligible for a juried "Made in NY" award with a cash prize of $5,000. CUNY students' selected work will also be a part of complimentary screenings held during IFP Market, a forum restricted to film industry professionals, including festival programmers, film broadcasters and distributors and sales agents.

Each participating school will receive complimentary access badges for film and media students to attend the IFP's Filmmaker Conference.