Guest Blog by Kacy Bao ’26
Note: The MCS NYC Summer Internship Program is generously funded by the Harvard Club of New York Foundation.
This summer has been an absolute dream come true being able to work with The Space Program, a NYC-based production company run by three producers and best friends, Lizzie Shapiro, Lexi Tannenholtz, and Gus Deardoff, all of whom have worked in the industry for many years.
Taking on a unpaid film internship was a big risk; it’s my junior year summer, a very pivotal summer in terms of figuring out one’s career and life after college, and I chose to go all in and give film a shot before I have to be in the real world. It wouldn’t have been possible to have lived in NYC without this generous grant and for that I am so incredibly grateful. I’ve gotten to learn so much from the three producers who have turned into my close friends along the way.
One key memory from this summer interning with The Space Program was my very first day of work when I got the opportunity to sit in on a script breakdown meeting with one of their writers on a movie currently in development that they are working on producing. It was amazing getting to read the script beforehand, get introduced to the absolute brilliant writer behind it, divide the script down with the team into acts, and dive right into every detail as well as overall structure that makes a script into a great movie. I got to see exactly the types of things that industry professionals care about when developing a film, and even contribute a new idea or two — making recommendations that I hope to see on the big screen when this film gets developed. It was my favourite memory of my internship by far because it showed me, in the most genuine way possible, how much care people who work in in the industry put into every little detail to make sure the message is best communicated into the actual movie; a behind-the-scenes perspective I don’t often see as the movie watcher, seeing only the end product. It took us literally all day with over a hundred note cards and thumb tacks on the wall, various debates about side characters, storylines, pacing, character development, and what they mean to the purpose of the story itself, and a couple of snack breaks to talk about movies currently in distribution and our recent meet up at Cannes Film Festival, and I left feeling incredibly energised and inspired by it all.
Along the way I’ve gotten to meet with various directors and writers that work with The Space Program who have worked on projects, both TV and film, that I love and getting to pick their brains about how to find my own path in the industry through Ask Me Anything one-on-one meetings that have been incredibly insightful and left me feeling like I have friends in the industry now who have my back and support me.
I could not possibly be more grateful for this opportunity from the donors to be able to have pursued my dreams and made this experience possible; growing up raised by a single immigrant mother who also loves movies, I never dreamed that I could be able to work as a film development intern in New York City. I’ll never forget this summer and what I’ve learned and I am so beyond grateful for everything. Thank you.
