The world was created in only six days.
We think we can handle six films.

The award-winning Jewish non-profit production company G-dcast has announced Studio G-dcast, and opened up the application process for this summer artists’ residency to take place at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Over the week of August 12-17, 2012, six student animators and six storytellers will come together for an intensive residency that combines art and Jewish learning. Animator-storyteller chevrutas – the Hebrew word for study pairs – will adapt classic Jewish texts into six short films. The program is free of charge to participants, who will receive travel, lodging and intensive training and studio experiences in animated storytelling from a talented staff of educators.

“We’re looking for students from all over the map – literally and spiritually. We hope to find them at art schools and technology programs, in MFAs and underground improv troupes,” said G-dcast’s Executive Director Sarah Lefton, who designed the program in response to widespread requests from educators for collaborative filmmaking opportunities for their students. “The goal is to give young artists a chance to practice their craft in a Jewish space, and to give us on the professional team a chance to share our process with new talent. It’s a two-way street.”

Studio G-dcast will be led by an innovative group of educators – a film producer, animator and screenwriter will join two Jewish educators in creating a media beit midrash – house of study – where participants will do close readings of ancient stories and adapt them into short films via contemporary technology and storytelling via prose, poetry, and song. The cohort will work collaboratively at the CJM as well as paying visits to a recording studio and Bay Area animation hotspots.

The CJM will provide work space, creative educators, and logistical support to the program team, as well as hosting a public presentation of works-in-progress at the residency’s end.

Admission to the program will be competitive and applications have launched today and will remain open until March 9th. Prospective participants will complete biographical and artistic statements as well as a creative assignment to be considered. A selection committee featuring Jewish educators, filmmakers, and arts programmers will make decisions about the cohort in the spring.

Studio G-dcast is made possible in part by funds granted by the Covenant Foundation. G-dcast is the recipient of a 2012-13 Signature Grant supporting Studio G-dcast; the organization joins 10 other distinguished grantees doing innovative work in Jewish education.

Full details are online at g-dcast.com/studio