PGA Create is a lab for emerging and mid-career creative producers from underrepresented backgrounds who are in active development, financing or packaging of a feature or series. There are two program cycles: Scripted and Documentary. The program was launched in Fall 2021 with lead support from Google.
Participants will have opportunities to hone their project pitches, attend masterclasses with experienced producers and expand their community of producers. PGA Create producers or producing teams receive:
- An invitation to either the four-day Scripted or Documentary Cycle of the program
- An opportunity to practice and refine their pitch
- A Producing mentor
- An invitation to PGA’s annual Produced By Conference in June and a special PGA Create networking event for all scripted and documentary Fellows
- Invitations to select PGA programming and events throughout the year focused on career sustainability and professional development
- Education around PGA Initiatives including Producers Mark, Set Etiquette Training, Sustainability, Membership
The program takes place virtually and is structured around four days of intensive sessions and masterclasses that offer pragmatic and practical advice around pitching, working with partners, securing and managing financing, accessing VFX and post-production needs, distribution, and much more.
To date, 47 producers and producing teams have been supported through PGA Create.
PGA Create was developed through the PGA One Guild initiative, which supports inclusive membership, employment, content, and authentic depictions.
The next Scripted Cycle will take place in late Spring 2025. Applications will open in late 2024. Please Note: PGA Create’s Documentary/Non-Fiction Cycle will return in 2026.
Please join our mailing list to learn about all future cycles.
PGA Create Fellows
Eligibility Criteria
- Producers from backgrounds underrepresented in the industry. This is broadly defined and inclusive of identities pertaining, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, religion, tribal enrollment, gender and gender expression, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic level, veteran status.
- US-based producers only.
- Producers must submit and participate as a lead producer on a project – either a feature or series.
- Applicants may only submit one project as a lead producer.
- If the applicant is also the director of a feature, there must be another producer who is not serving as a co-director. In this instance, the applicant must submit as a producing team and, if selected, both producers would be expected to participate in the program.
- Projects must be at the development phase. Projects already in production through rough cut, completed or with committed distribution in place are not eligible to apply.
- Emerging and mid-career producers are broadly defined as those with prior producing experience, typically as one of the lead producers of a feature or series. Prior experience could also include producing shorts or being part of a project’s producing team such as an associate producer, line producer, supervising producer, story producer, etc. The program is targeted at those with a demonstrated interest and commitment to the field of producing. In certain instances, the program will also consider applicants without prior producing credits who have relevant adjacent experience in film and or television production.
- The program is specifically designed as an introduction to the Producers Guild. Its aim is to cultivate and establish relationships with potential future members of the organization. It is not geared toward current PGA members. The Guild has other mentoring programs open exclusively to our members.
2024 Scripted Cycle Key Dates
- Application opens online: Monday, December 11, 2023
- Application submission deadline: Tuesday, January 30, 2024
- Finalist notifications: Week of March 18, 2024
- Interviews with finalists: Week of March 25, 2024
- Notification of Acceptance: Week of April 29, 2024
- Virtual Orientation: Week of May 20, 2024
- Virtual Program Dates: Monday, June 3, 2024 – Thursday, June 6, 2024
- Produced By Conference (in person in Los Angeles): Early June 2024
The next Scripted Cycle will take place in late Spring 2025. Applications will open in late 2024. Please Note: PGA Create’s Documentary/Non-Fiction Cycle will return in 2026.
Please join our mailing list to learn about all future cycles.
Eligibility Questions
I am both the Producer and Director of the project I want to submit. Am I eligible to apply?
Yes, however, there must be another producer who is not serving as a co-director with you. In this instance, the applicant must submit as a producing team and, if selected, both producers would be expected to participate in the program.
Is selection based on the potential of the producer, strength of the project or some combination?
The review and selection process takes into account a combination of both the strength and potential of the producer and project.
How do you define emerging producers?
It is important that the selected final applicants have a baseline of prior experience actively producing content. While this could have been learned in film school, it could also come from being fully self-taught through the lived experience of producing web series, shorts, documentaries and other content. The program is not designed to teach you how to produce, but to help you strengthen your producing capabilities by expanding your foundation and network of professional producers interested in mentoring producers from underrepresented backgrounds.
How do you define mid-career producers?
As a guild whose members are producers and part of producing teams, the organization cares a great deal about supporting and forging opportunities for creative producers across the trajectory of their careers.
If I have enough qualifying credits to join the Producers Guild, am I still eligible to apply?
If you believe that you have enough qualifying credits to join the organization at the time of your submission, we recommend that you please wait on applying for membership until after final selection of all producers and projects has been determined for PGA Create.
I am a U.S. citizen living outside of the country. Am I eligible to apply?
In short, no. We believe that the program is best able to support the specific needs for networking, collaboration and mentorship of creative producers actively engaged in strengthening those networks within the U.S.
My project is set in the U.S. and its subject lives in the U.S., but I do not live in the U.S., nor am I a U.S. citizen. Am I still eligible to apply?
U.S. citizenship is not a prerequisite for eligibility. We simply require that irrespective of your citizenship or immigration status that you live in the U.S. and are seeking to strengthen your network as a creative producer within the U.S.
Application Supporting Documents
I don’t have a script. Can I still apply?
If you’re developing a feature: The most competitive applicants will typically have a completed script. If your feature is based on underlying source material or life rights, in those instances, in order to be a competitive applicant, we recommend having those rights secured and submitting with a treatment.
If you’re developing a series: Applicants frequently submit a pilot script, treatment, series bible or other written material.
If I have an incomplete Pitch Deck or Treatment, can I still apply?
Your application should include a Pitch Deck, Trailer/Sizzle and/or Treatment. The strongest applications likely have at least one of these in addition to a script.
Do I need to have Production Partners, or can I apply solo?
Producers can apply alone, or with other Partners, including Production entities. Most importantly, the submitter should identify as the (or one of the) lead creative producers on the project.
Review and Selection Process
Will I receive feedback on my submission?
Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions, we are not able to provide individual feedback to each applicant.
Who is on the Final Selection Panel?
Experienced Producers who are members of the Producers Guild.
Select Press
- 2024 Scripted Cycle: Deadline – “Producers Guild Sets Scripted Producers and Producing Teams for PGA Create Program”
- 2023 Documentary Cycle: Deadline – “Producers Guild of America Announces Documentary Producers And Producing Teams for The 2023 PGA Create Program”
- 2022 Scripted Cycle: Deadline – “Producers Guild Sets Fellows For Second Annual PGA Create Program”
- 2022 Documentary Cycle: Variety – “PGA Unveils Documentary Teams for Immersive Lab Dedicated to Underrepresented Producers (EXCLUSIVE)”
- 2021 Scripted Cycle: Deadline – “Producers Guild Unveils Teams For Inaugural PGA Create; Google Set As Sponsor”
Spring 2024 Scripted Cycle
Features
- Laura Fries, producer, Body Shop
- Andria Wilson Mirza, producer, Heirloom
- Evelyn Angelica Martinez, producer, Joyride
- Valeria Contreras, producer, Not My Name
- Constanza Castro, producer & Doménica Castro, producer, Out to Get You
- Phoebe Wong, producer, Paper Tigers
- Mireia Vilanova, producer, Silence Sometimes
- Annam Rizwan, producer & Asad Farooqui, producer/writer/director, The Immigration Game
Series
- Andrew K. Li, producer, Blissful Acres
- Becca E. Davis, producer/writer, Through Violet Eyes
Fall 2023 Documentary Cycle
Features
- Din Blakenship, Director/Producer and Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Producer, Love, Your Birth Mom
- G. (Giovanna) Chesler, Producer, Intersex Justice
- Nicole Docta, Producer and Emily Thomas, Producer/Director, The Dead Zone
- Prerana Thakurdesai, Producer, The Last Resort
- Krystal Tingle, Director/Producer and Niema Jordan, Producer, Oh Happy Day
Series
- Eboni Johnson-Kaba, Director/Producer and Barry Thornberg, Producer, Blerd Nation
Fall 2022 Scripted Cycle
Features
- Rui Xu, Producer, 72
- Nerissa Williams Scott, Producer, Dill
- Robbie Daw, Writer/Producer and Tyler Steele, Writer/Producer, Double Wide Dreams
- Maya S. Patel, Producer and Neeraj Jain, Producer/Cinematographer, Further to Fly
- Ali Salem, Producer and Ioana Uricaru, Producer, The Swim Lesson
- Carolyn Mao, Producer and Allison Jordan, Producer, Time Away
- Chad Shields, Producer, We Were Born Dead
Series
- Kathryn Lo, Writer/Producer, Our Dark Lady
- Linhan Zhang, Producer, The Black Lotus
- Winnie Yuan Kemp, Producer/Co-Writer, The Dragon Lady
Spring 2022 Documentary Cycle
Features
- Jameka Autry, Producer and Angela Tucker, Director/Producer, The Inquisitor
- Paige Bethmann, Producer/Director and Jessica Epstein, Producer, Remaining Native
- Tracy Chitupatham, Producer and Anh Phan, Producer, New Wave
- Christine Delp, Producer, Querida
- Nadia Gill, Producer and Nevo Shinaar, Producer, Messengers
- Kristina Goolsby, Producer and Maeve Kerigan, Producer, Untitled “Misstress Formika” Documentary
- Juliana Schatz, Director & Producer and Tanja Tawadjoh, Producer, Providencia
- Nicole Teeny, Producer and Mariel Sarkis, Producer, Dear Friend: The Sarah Hegazi Documentary
- Mars Verrone, Producer and Samantha Curley, Producer, Union
Series
- John Lopez, Producer, Scam Dunk
- Garland McLaurin, Producer and Mike Brown, Producer, Black Minds Matter
Inaugural Fall 2021 Scripted Cycle
Features
- Ashley Flores, Writer/Producer and Sabrina Ehlert, Producer, Madrigal 10
- Beverley Gordon, Producer, Experience
- Nasir Kenneth Ferebee and Quan Lateef-Hill, Producers, Give The Drummer Some
- Gia Rigoli, Producer, The Weight Of Land
- Sav Rodgers, Writer/Producer and Alex Schmider, Producer, I Love You, Margot Robbie
- Rabia Sultana, Producer, Mala Sangre
Series
- Ken Arquelio and Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, Writer/Creators/EP, Desert Rats
- Rashad Chambers, Writer/Creator/EP, Outliers
- Marissa Diaz, EP/Creator, The Real And Magical Diaries Of Luna Icaza
- Elisha Miranda, Writer/Producer and Audrey Seda, Producer, The Chronicles Of Eva
Select Previous Mentors & Advisors
Notable Mentors & Advisors that have previously participated include: Stephanie Allain (Homegrown Pictures); Corrine Aquino (Artists First); Betsy Beers (Shondaland); Anne Carey (Archer Gray); Kesila Childers (Powderkeg); Elsie Choi (CJ ENM America / Studio Dragon Global); Dan Cogan (Story Syndicate); Jesse Collins (Jesse Collins Entertainment); Deniese Davis (Insecure); DMA (Planet DMA); Mike Farah (Funny or Die); Lizzie Friedman (Priority Pictures); Donna Gigliotti (Hidden Figures); Sarah Green (Brace Cove Productions); Carolina Groppa (Color Creative); Karl Hartman (Big Indie Pictures); Sacha Ben Harroche (Sound of Metal); Mel Jones (Really Love); Courtney A. Kemp (End of Episode); Kristen Konvitz (United Talent Agency); Alyssa Lanz (United Talent Agency); Tonya Lewis Lee (She’s Gotta Have It); Dan Lin (Rideback); James Lopez (MACRO Film Studios); Daniela Taplin Lundberg (Stay Gold Features); Melvin Mar (The Detective Agency); Lori McCreary (Madam Secretary); Maurício Mota (Wise Entertainment); Craig Muhlrad (Amazon MGM Studios); Ravi Nandan (A24); Benjamin Odell (3Pas); Tommy Oliver (ConfluentialFilms); Theresa Page (Ley Line Entertainment); Theresa Park (Per Capita Productions); Joseph Patel (Summer of Soul); Diane Quon (Minding the Gap); Win Rosenfeld (Monkeypaw Productions); Tara Roy (STARZ); Mandy Safavi (Dopesick); Robert Salerno (ArtinaFilms); Peter Saraf (Nuclear Family); Shrihari Sathe (Dialectic); Gene Stein (Narcos); Mary Jane Skalski (American Animals); Shelby Stone (ID8 Multimedia); Gregory Trattner (Film Finances); Pam Veasey (Long Slow Exhale); Shana Waterman (Royal Ties Productions); Philipp Wolf (DNEG); David Zannoni (Freeway Entertainment); Leonardo Zimbrón (3Pas Studios).
PGA Create Mailing List
Join the PGA Create mailing list to automatically learn about future cycles and their deadlines to apply.
For questions, please contact diversity@producersguild.org.