ATLANTA – On Sunday, prominent filmmaker Rob Hardy and prominent entertainment and film industry veteran and philanthropist Nina Packer celebrated the sixth season of their Amazing Stories Film and TV Apprenticeship program with alumni of the program and prospective trainees at Brooklyn Tea in Atlanta.
Hardy and his wife Shaun worked with Packer to build the nonprofit foundation more than six years ago to provide support, training, and job opportunities to below the line professionals in the Atlanta metro area.
The 10 trainees in the program receive a $1,000 stipend for classroom training during a two-week period. Linda Burns leads the PA basing training during the program. The apprentices, mentors and partners of the program attend an industry wrap party at the conclusion of the six month period of training, placement and ongoing mentorship and development, according to Packer.
The program has guided 54 below-the-line professionals to the industry eligible for local hire since the first season in 2019.
Hardy and his former partner Will Packer, a popular filmmaker, worked together to create Rainforest Films in 1998. They worked together on several films and productions over the years. One of their goals was to help provide opportunities for others in the industry.
“Whenever we were doing our early projects, we would always bring on new people who wanted to learn and intern,” said Hardy. “A lot of people came through our company when Will and I were business partners. As I got further along, I saw there was a need for a new local crew and took that as an opportunity to try to extend that to other people. A lot of people who lived here felt shut out by the business.”
“We started this in 2019 to make sure that there is more diversity on sets, especially in Atlanta,” said Packer. “I wanted to send a clear message that this is a community. This is what it looks like. This is what it feels like and you can be a part of this.”
Packer helps oversee the day-to-day operations of the program that allows them to train adult career seekers for below-the-line film and television jobs. She began working in marketing and development in Rainforest Films in 1998. Packer also has experience as a marketing teacher and has worked with philanthropic entities in entertainment including hip-hop icon Lil Wayne’s One Family Foundation.
Packer said despite the challenges over the years with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, the program continued to persevere.
“A lot of things changed during the strike,” Packer said. “I’ve noticed that the rates being offered to PAs is not as high as they once were before the strike. We persevered during COVID. We were fortunate that the City of East Point allowed us to utilize a space that was very large. We took every precaution we could take so we could continue to have this program. We’re still here and we’re still going.”
Many program alum who attended the event on Sunday discussed the positive impact the program has had on them.
“It was such a great turnout and a very welcoming atmosphere,” said Julia Davis. “It was an element of lets build together instead of lets compete against one another.”
After graduating from Spelman College in 2015, Davis attended film school at USC in Los Angeles. She met Packer in Los Angeles more than a year ago through a mutual friend.
“Nina was working with one of my high school counselors at the time,” Davis said. “When I saw that, we really connected, especially with their mission to make sure Atlanta’s film market reflects Atlanta’s population. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to move back to Atlanta even though I was in “the heart of Hollywood.”
Davis, a current Spelman College film professor and community advocate said she was happy to see some of her film students attend the event and meet other film professionals.
“I’m happy they took advantage of the opportunity,” she said. “We just got the greenlight to start fundraising for a narrative program at Spellman. I know it will work with what Nina and Rob are doing. I would love to participate and see how they run their program because it sounds great. I’m into development of curriculum and I am a filmmaker.”
Hardy said legendary filmmaker Spike Lee inspired him to pursue filmmaking after he saw his movie “School Daze” in 1988.
“That was the first time I saw a director who looked like me,” he said.
Since making his directorial debut in the movie “Chocolate City” in 1994, Hardy has written, directed, produced and executive produced dozens of hit TV shows and movies. He served as the executive producer for movies “Think Like A Man” and “Think Like a Man Too.”
“I took an acting class so I could hone my skills. I took a course in New York Film Academy, then I did some more movies and apprenticeships to get into TV,” Hardy said.
He also directed several episodes of the hit TV series “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and Power Book IV: Force,” and other hit TV series including “90210″ and “All American.”
“I got a chance to come on in the beginning and direct the pilot episode of All American,” he said. “After we talked about it, I thought there was an opportunity to explore the good and the bad of both Crenshaw and Beverly Hills. That was how the show evolved.”
Giving back to others is something Hardy loves to do because of his parents.
Over the years, Hardy said he became a better story teller and evolved as a director because he understood the story and how the camera is. He also spoke about former Beverly Hills 90210 star actress Shannen Doherty who recently died of cancer.
“I do know that Doherty and Luke Perry, Jason Priestley and all of the other actors were a part of the rise of that show and franchise,” Hardy said. “To be able to come back on the reboot was really cool. They thought a lot of her on that series and what she had to offer. Rest in peace to Shannen.”
Packer and Hardy hope to continue leading apprentices to more career opportunities in the film industry.
“We can still do some work on having diversity on sets in Atlanta,” said Packer. “For those who don’t make the cohort, hopefully they met someone in the room that can get them one step closer to their goal. We’re building a mail list of folks who we can invite to the next event.”
Apprentices have been placed on sets including: NBCUniversal’s Praise This, and Fight Night; Disney’s Tell Me Lies Season 2, and Single Drunk Female; HBO’s Lovecraft Country; AMC’s The Walking Dead, Black Lightning; Legacies; Dynasty; Black Adam, Shazam 2; STARZ’s BMF Season 2; BET’s American Soul; Tyler Perry’s The Oval & Sistas; Will Packer’s Ready to Love, and Central Ave.
Hardy and Packer said it is rewarding to have watched alum and current members evolve and flourish in the film industry.
“It feels great and takes me back to when I first saw Spike Lee,” said Hardy. " In the movie “School Daze,” there are so many executives, actors and filmmakers that make cameos in that movie. One of his biggest legacies is how many people he helped put on. To be able to look and see the people from season one through five have careers in the business.”
“I appreciate that they’re expanding what in the black community our idea of opportunities in the film industry look like,” said Davis. “It’s not just the writer, director and actor, its the people who create the ecosystem of the film industry that help it survive.”
Hardy also spoke to aspiring filmmakers and actors about never giving up on their dreams.
“The leap of faith is what makes your dreams come true,” he said. “In any business, you have to first have a dream and a vision of what it will take to get there. Regardless of your situation, and with that vision, you’re one step closer to climb that mountain everyday.”
“This is a culmination of several seasons of investing in the film industry and film culture in Atlanta. It’s a body of work and a way of life. I will always help people to find their way to their success,” Packer said.
For more information, visit Amazingstoriesfoundation.org .
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