I got my start at BAVC: Rachel Holbrook

Stories from our community

For 45 years we have been opening doors for emerging media makers and professionals in the Bay Area, through training, artist development, apprenticeships, funding and more.

As we look forward to 2023 and celebrate the work we’ve done, we asked members of our community to share how BAVC Media has impacted their careers.

Check out our newest board member, Rachel Holbrook’s BAVC story below!

Your contributions help us deliver programs, pay instructors, and offer subsidized classes to support our local media-making community. While we continue to rebuild revenue loss from the pandemic, we need your support now more than ever.

How did you come across BAVC Media?

In 2001, in my early 20’s, I was working at a small San Francisco media company hoping to earn one of the coveted “Associate Producer” roles. My company had a partnership with BAVC and I enrolled in the Video Production Certificate track. The courses provided me with hands-on experience and practical guidance that I was able to use immediately in my work. The experience proved invaluable – these were lessons and support that provided the missing link between formal education and my day-to-day job.

What doors did BAVC Media open for you?

I earned that “Associate Producer” role shortly after completing the Video Production Certificate and the experience gave me confidence to embark on a career of my own making: one that would constantly push the boundaries of my creativity. It was not only the skills that I learned at BAVC that allowed me to do this, it was the community of people I met who were inventing their own creative careers and contributing their voices to the art of storytelling and media making. When I saw others doing it, I thought I could do it too.

Where are you now in your media-making career?

I’ve worked across all areas of commercial production for global brands and I’ve built creative teams for technology companies. I produced an award-winning feature documentary and am now directing my first documentary series. There are two things I look for in projects: they must force me to learn new skills and challenge my worldview by introducing me to new perspectives.

Describe something meaningful about your experience with BAVC Media.

BAVC played an important role in the earliest stages of my career. It’s now my honor to join BAVC’s board and have a front-row seat to so many other filmmakers’ careers being lifted off the ground with BAVC’s support. The issues these filmmakers are addressing, the creative ways they are employing their teams, honing their craft, breaking through with their messages… it’s very inspiring to watch and I feel so lucky to be a participant in all of it.

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