GCFC's first Production Assistant Workshop of the year was held on Saturday, January 11th at the Arnold Pinkney East Professional Center.

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Production Assistant Workshop of 2025! Led by award-winning, 40-year industry veteran Kokayi Ampah, Location Manager, Director, Producer, and Writer, best known for being the Production Supervisor and Location Manager on The Shawshank Redemption. A winner of multiple Lifetime Achievement Awards from across the industry, he was the second Location Manager to be inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and currently serves as the Co-Chair of The Academy Museum's Diversity Committee. Attendees learned how to get started as Production Assistants (P.A.). P.A.s are essential support for the cast and crew on a production. This entry-level position is the best place to learn how a set operates and how to start a career in the industry. Workshop topics included:

• How to structure your resumé to stand out
• Set hierarchy & responsibilities
• Set terminology, protocols & etiquette
• Call sheets, sides, DooDs, shooting schedules
• Strip boards, production reports
• Hour-by-hour walkthrough of a day on set
• Q&A with our experts & more!

PRESENTED BY              

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ABOUT OUR PANELISTS

Kokayi Ampah began his career in the Inner City Youth League in 1968 where, with Bobby Hickman and Mahmoud El Kati, he got a sense of community awareness and cultural heritage. That same year he was introduced to the world of television at KTCA, a PBS affiliate in the Black Voices Training and Production Program. Through Bobby Hickman, Kokayi was able to visit the film sets of Bobby's uncle Gordon Parks, Shaft’s Big Score in 1972 and Leadbelly in 1974. In 1977 Kokayi moved to Los Angeles, and in 1978, he became the first African-American union Location Manager in Los Angeles, working with such prominent directors of Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood and John Singleton.

His television credits include The A-Team, Cagney & Lacey, Knight Rider, and Women of Brewster Place. His feature film credits include The Color Purple, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Poetic Justice, Space Cowboys, Amistad, Mars Attacks, 8 Mile, Straight Outta Compton, and 22 other feature films. He served as Associate Producer and Location Manager on The Five Heartbeats and Production Supervisor/Location Manager on The Shawshank Redemption.

In 1995 he was awarded the Feature Location Manager of the Year Award for the State of California. In 2015, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Location Managers Guild of America. In 2016, Kokayi became the second Location Manager inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2018, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the African-American Film Marketplace. In the past 10 years, Kokayi has written, directed and produced three short films, co-produced two other shorts, and co-produced a feature film Clips of Freedom, released in 2019.

In 2023, Kokayi produced the feature length documentary A Tale of Two Inner Cities about his life growing up in St. Paul and then working in the Inner City Youth League. Most recently, he produced the short Poinsettia - Hollywood’s Refuge about the place where black Hollywood networked in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

He also currently serves as Co-Chair The Academy Museum’s Diversity Committee.

Bill Garvey is the President of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, and is a former motion picture & television location manager and scout with 26 years of experience. His credits include Judas & The Black Messiah, The Avengers, Queen & Silm, The Fate of the Furious, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Spiderman 2, Law & Order, and more.    

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EVENT PHOTOS