2:46 pm PST 1/25/2021
in
Etan Vlessing
ASU opens Sidney Poitier New American Film School as an “egalitarian” institution with the aim of including, not excluding, students of color and first generation families.
Legendary actor Sidney Poitier changed his name and reputation to Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School amid plans to establish campuses in three cities in Arizona and California.
For having the Oscar winner Poitier – who in 1964 became the first black Oscar winner for best actor for the Arizona photo Lilies of the Field – lend its name to its film school, ASU wants to demonstrate that the institution includes, and does not exclude, black students and first generation immigrants.
“We decided to make the institution grow and diversify it by not becoming more selective, because selectivity is dragging social disruption in a negative way,” said ASU President Michael Crow THR, adding that Poitier symbolizes ASU’s quest for inclusion and diversity for coming to Hollywood and to film stardom as an immigrant, through New York City and the Bahamas.
“[Poitier] was born in Miami, but was actually raised in the Bahamas. He then comes to this country, he finds his way, he finds his art, and all this through work, effort and creativity, and that is what we are looking for “, says Crow.
ASU alumnus and Lionsgate vice president Michael Burns remembers when the university purchased the historic Herald Examiner building in Los Angeles as part of a planned expansion of the film school and was told by Crow that there was no name for the new location. “I said, ‘What about Sidney Poitier?’ He was the first name that came to mind, ”says Burns, adding that years before he met the screen legend and his wife at a dinner in Hollywood.
“[Poitier] is one of the most elegant men I have ever met, and very intelligent, “says Burns. After the Lionsgate executive got in touch with the Poitier family, they agreed to lend his name to Sidney Poitier New American Film School as a symbol of ASU’s mission of diversity and innovation for the institution.
In the fall of 2022, ASU’s film school will be moved to a new facility in downtown Mesa, Arizona, while also operating in the new Los Angeles facility. New American Film School students Sidney Poitier will also have hands-on experience with Hollywood technology through partnerships, including with the John Hughes Institute and Dreamscape Immersive, the virtual reality company.