How long has it been since your old school reached out to you?
We all know the standard request from universities: they want a contribution or assistance with a fundraising event. But consider a different scenario. What if the institution turned the question around and asked what it could offer you, rather than what you could give it?
DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts took that idea and turned it into a real program. In January 2026, the school launched the inaugural Alumni Vision Fund, a program designed to help alumni turn ambitious ideas into professionally executed proof-of-concept films. The goal is simple: extend the school’s resources, relationships and support beyond graduation, so alumni don’t have to rebuild everything from scratch.
This opportunity is limited to graduates of the School of Cinematic Arts alone. Every person selected receives a production support package worth around $100,000, which covers soundstage time at DePaul Cinespace Studios, professional cameras, grip and lighting gear, extra production supplies, and a cash grant to cover production expenses. The creators retain complete control over their finished work.
Daniel Klein’s Message to Alumni
Associate professor Daniel Klein, who also directs industry engagement for the School of Cinematic Arts, framed the fund’s purpose clearly. “You might’ve graduated a year ago or ten years ago, but we’ve still got your back,” Klein said. “We’re still here to support you. Your success is our success.”
The fund targets a shared issue faced by new filmmakers: they often possess both the skills needed to create and a steady stream of ideas. What they frequently lack, however, is the means to realize those ideas. That absence of resources can leave projects without an audience, with emerging filmmakers left searching for the funding, chances and connections needed to advance their work.
The Alumni Vision Fund fills that gap. Recipients receive a professionally produced short film intended to advance a larger project. Filmmakers can use the finished product to show their vision to potential investors, producers and talent, seek grants, and gain traction through festivals. Unlike a conventional investment, DePaul doesn’t take a share of what follows.
The Search for Recipients
When the fund was first created, it was designed to help a single alumni filmmaker. But after receiving 40 complete applications, the caliber of the finalists persuaded DePaul to increase the inaugural fund’s size, awarding two recipients instead of one: George Ellzey Jr. and Johanna Unden.
“To try to find a location in Chicago that wouldn’t charge us an arm and a leg was a feat.”
George Ellzey Jr.’s Return to Human Noise
Ellzey Jr. earned his degree in 2023, then directed the short film Closed Mouths, produced on a shoestring budget of essentially $0 thanks to favors, donated resources and backing from the community. The Alumni Vision Fund arrived in 2026, which enabled him to resume work on Human Noise, a project he had originally dreamed up way back in 2021.
The money pushed the project forward faster than expected. Even more significant was how DePaul’s resources gave Ellzey Jr. room to raise the creative bar on Human Noise, especially regarding the setting.
“To try to find a location in Chicago that wouldn’t charge us an arm and a leg was a feat,” Ellzey Jr. said. “And so to have access to the Cinespace stage where not only we can control the space but then customize it was extremely, extremely helpful.”
Ellzey Jr. noted that the people in Human Noise have gained some wealth and standing. He credited DePaul’s backing for making it possible to build a setting that fit that larger scope, something he could not have managed otherwise. The reach went further than just the set, with the production swelling to around 100 cast and crew.
“It really felt like this is a step forward towards something mainstream as opposed to just independent,” Ellzey Jr. said. “Now with the grant, the door has opened up for more opportunity.”
Johanna Unden’s Path to American Spirit
The short film Cecelia was made by Johanna Unden as a proof-of-concept to help build up the development of her planned feature-length project, American Spirit. Unden said that without the funding, she thought the short probably would have taken another year or two to complete.
Unden explained that DePaul’s equipment access let her spend a greater share of her restricted production budget on the people involved in making the film. “Being able to use the equipment free of charge and have access to all of that was a big reason we were able to pay our cast and crew reasonable rates, which was also a big thing for me,” “We all deserve to get paid in this industry. It’s nice when you can work on stuff with people that you love and also get paid for it.”
Besides the material resources, the fund provided something that emerging filmmakers often struggle to obtain: recognition.
“I left thinking I would never work with DePaul in that sense again,” Unden said. “Knowing that this story and myself are something that they think is worth investing in and supporting, it makes me really confident and grateful to have had those relationships.”
The Payoff So Far
The fund has already produced tangible outcomes. Two potential investors and additional grant opportunities are now on the horizon for Ellzey Jr., bringing the feature-length version of Human Noise one step closer to production. Meanwhile, Unden’s Cecelia is currently in post-production, with plans to submit to festivals next spring.
“If in any way this proof-of-concept can push me in that direction or get me in the room,” Unden said, “then I think that will have been a measure of success.”
A Proof-of-Concept for the School
The School of Cinematic Arts launched the Alumni Vision Fund as a way to show what it can do for its graduates. The first round of the fund proved useful in more than one way: it confirmed what the school can offer, and it also taught lessons about which methods succeed and which ones fall short.
The fund demonstrates what occurs when a school shifts from viewing its graduates as former students to seeing them as working professionals who need actual assistance. The cases of Ellzey Jr. and Unden confirm that this method works. Each filmmaker was able to advance more quickly and with greater ambition than either could have achieved alone.
The expansion from one recipient to two was a vote of confidence in the program’s value. The fund’s success in its first year suggests the demand is real, and the resources are being put to good use.
DePaul’s Alumni Vision Fund is helping filmmakers take the next step. It’s a small but meaningful example of a university doing exactly what it says on the tin: serving its graduates rather than asking for their money. The proof-of-concept has worked. Now the question is whether the fund will continue to grow and serve more alumni in the years ahead.
Source material: “DePaul’s Alumni Vision Fund Is Helping Filmmakers Take the Next Step,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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