Film Production
Walt Disney commits $1 million to United Negro College Fund
MUMBAI: UNCF (United Negro College Fund), one of America’s leading minority scholarship organizations, announced a $1 million commitment from The Walt Disney Company to provide scholarships to outstanding African American students and give them the tools to realize their professional goals.
The Walt Disney Company UNCF Corporate Scholars Program, administered by UNCF, will offer financial assistance to high-achieving African American students in underserved communities across the country, while expanding educational and career resources for them.
“UNCF works to ensure our future leaders have the opportunity to obtain the college degrees they need, and our nation needs them to have. The Walt Disney Company UNCF Corporate Scholars Program expands their academic training into practical experiences, to create a diverse pipeline of college educated professionals poised to assume fulfilling careers in the entertainment industry. The investment we are making in better futures for them now will pay dividends in years to come when they become our next generation of leaders,” said UNCF president and CEO Michael L. Lomax.
“Higher education is the key to a successful future, especially in an increasingly knowledge-driven economy. Our program with UNCF will provide tools and resources to make college more accessible for promising students in historically underserved communities, so they are prepared and empowered to achieve their career dreams,” added The Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger.
Paying for college is often the greatest hurdle to achieving a bachelor’s degree, especially for the students UNCF traditionally serves – low-income youth and the first in their families to go to college, with more than 50 per cent coming from families whose incomes are less than $30,000 per year. The Walt Disney Company UNCF Corporate Scholars will be selected based on a competitive application process administered by UNCF. Recommended eligibility criteria include: Underrepresented African American freshmen, enrolled full-time at a four-year college or university; Preference will be given to students attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to ensure 50 per cent of each group are derived from these schools; Students must have a demonstrated financial need as verified by their college or university; Students must have a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale; and Students must have an interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry (e.g. film, television, hospitality management, journalism, media production, digital media, etc.) as demonstrated by submission of an initial essay and participation in program components.
The Corporate Scholars program also includes the creation of a Career Navigator web-based platform that will provide both career information and tools to a broad network of African American students, as well as targeted support services to scholarship recipients. The platform, to be launched this fall, will help students develop requisite skills, and navigate the transition from college to early-stage careers. Web-based and facilitated learning modules will introduce students to the variety of careers at Disney, and Scholars will also have the opportunity to apply for Disney internships.
Students can find additional information at www.uncf.org/disneyscholars. The application process opens 16 March, 2015 and closes 15 May, 2015.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
