After a pre-pandemic stint in community college, Ezra Balcha worked part-time as a landscaper for the Los Angeles parks department. He ate fast during his 30-minute lunch breaks so he had time to work on screenplays. At the Cheviot Hills park, just outside Fox studios, he filled notebook after notebook, never believing he could do anything with those stories.
For one thing, he didn’t have the time or energy to pursue such a career, while working and taking care of his elderly parents. He also didn’t see many people from Ethiopia in Hollywood. Still, his family and girlfriend urged him to try. So he applied to California State University, Northridge’s cinema and television arts film program in 2023.
Fast forward to late 2025, when Balcha, now 29, wrapped production on his CSUN senior capstone film, “The Beat of Our Souls.” It’s about an Ethiopian couple living with disabilities who join a dance therapy class to heal their marriage. It was inspired by his parents.
Balcha’s dream of making a movie got a boost from a high-profile supporter in the industry. The Golden Globe Foundation, the philanthropic successor to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, provided him with a scholarship and some funding for his project.
“Their support has been world-changing,” Balcha said. “The film that I just finished shooting right now with my cohort is about the resilient love that my parents had for one another over the course of some life-altering life events. It’s inspired by them, and it’s a powerful love story from a subgroup in my community that’s never been seen before. And a great reason that it was made was the money that I got from the Golden Globe Foundation.”
It was a vote of confidence he didn’t expect, delivered by an organization that has supported CSUN and its students for three decades. In 2026, CSUN is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its first philanthropic gift from the Golden Globe Foundation. Their annual support includes a $2 million gift in 2015 for technology upgrades and scholarships. Hundreds of students from the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication‘s film, television and journalism programs have benefited from nearly $4 million in total support, creating life-changing opportunities.
“The Golden Globe Foundation has been a tremendous partner for the Mike Curb College at CSUN in supporting young filmmakers and journalists to realize their goal of making an impact,” said Dan Hosken, dean of the Mike Curb College. “Media and entertainment need the voices of our students now more than ever, and the support from the Golden Globe Foundation is helping to make that a reality.”
Investing in Dreams
The Golden Globe Foundation has provided opportunities including scholarships, funding for senior film productions, and upgrades to production equipment that help students learn on industry-standard equipment. CSUN’s CTVA and journalism programs align with the foundation’s mission to support students from underrepresented communities in the worlds of film and journalism.
“The Golden Globe Foundation has long supported education in the arts and journalism to give access for students who could not otherwise find roles in those industries,” said Gregory Goeckner, CEO of the Golden Globe Foundation, who joined the CSUN Foundation Board of Directors in 2025. “CSUN’s film and television and journalism programs have been a key part of our philanthropy program for almost 30 years and are looked on as cornerstones of our program. We are delighted to see each year the award-winning films and journalism produced by students in those programs and to follow the careers of their many successful graduates.”
As part of the Golden Globe Fellows program, thousands of dollars go toward senior film projects, which teach students to navigate the entire filmmaking process, from script to screen. Senior film projects frequently cost $30,000 and sometimes much more. CSUN makes eight senior films a year, and about 25 students work on each film.
The college awards several Golden Globe scholarships each year for talented undergrad film production and MFA screenwriting students. In total, about 300 students have been helped with Golden Globe scholarships or film production fellowships over the years.
Students who benefited from Golden Globe support have gone on to work throughout the film and TV industries, including as executives, in production and post-production, and in writers’ rooms on numerous projects. Alumni who received support for senior projects include Michelle Mizner ’07 (CTVA – film), who went on to win an Oscar after producing and editing “20 Days in Mariupol,” which won “Best Documentary Feature” in 2024, and Arielle Kilker ’11 (CTVA – film production), who won two Emmys for her work on the Netflix docuseries “Cheer.”
The foundation has also invested to keep the film program current with the latest technology, including editing equipment and sound technology such as tools for Dolby Atmos immersive sound, ADR (dialogue) dubbing and sound effects. A few years ago, the TV studio upgraded to high-definition cameras and an enhanced control room. An endowment ensures that equipment can be upgraded in perpetuity.
“The Golden Globe Foundation is allowing our students, who are mostly from working class backgrounds, to not only have dreams of making films, but to make those dreams reality,” said cinema and television arts professor Nate Thomas, head of CSUN’s film option. “Their support has allowed us to make it so that making films isn’t just for the privileged, it’s for anybody who has a story to tell. And our students have diverse stories to tell.”
The Golden Globe Foundation also made a critical impact in CSUN’s Department of Journalism, which prepares students for English and/or Spanish-language journalism, broadcast media, and public relations. In addition to scholarships, the foundation supported a student reporting trip to Uvalde, Texas, which in 2022 was the site of one of America’s deadliest school shootings. The student-produced stories and photos resulted in an award-winning Sundial project.
CSUN also maintains a relationship with the Golden Globes LLC, the organization that now puts on the annual TV and film awards ceremony. For more than 10 years, CTVA students have assisted at the show as externs, and social media and fashion specialists. For the third year in a row, two CSUN students will work on stage as trophy presenters at the Jan. 11 ceremony.
“Getting to be there solidified my love for this and how I want to be involved in every aspect of entertainment,” Nikolet Ocampo, a senior CTVA major (film production), said after presenting at the 2025 ceremony. “I feel so lucky to be a film student at CSUN.”
Making a Difference
In spring 2026, Balcha will be in post-production on his senior film, editing it down to its final form. He’s also completing his first original feature film screenplay, which he will direct. He intends to start fundraising for it once he graduates. His goal is to write and direct films for major studios to reach a global audience.
“I would love to work for a studio that wants to make really impactful films and meaningful films, not just about my community, but about any community,” Balcha said. “I would love to make large tentpole films for everybody. Because that’s the stuff that brought me in, that’s the stuff that made me want to do this as a kid. That’s my ultimate dream, to make things that bring people together.”
CSUN’s film program is annually recognized as one of the best in the country by trade publications including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and TheWrap. The Golden Globe Foundation helped CSUN get there.
“Their support has been a major part of why we’re in the top 25 film schools,” Thomas said.
