By Chuck Cascio, Author and Former South Lakes Teacher
Ethan Goldman established the television and film production company Anchor Entertainment six years ago, and he proudly refers to his company’s Mission Statement that says, in part, “We foster an inclusive, family-first work environment that reflects a wide range of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds; all supported by our firm belief that mutual respect is an integral part of any successful endeavor.”
The 1992 South Lakes High School graduate attributes those thoughts to values he learned growing up in Reston. “Robert E. Simon’s vision was to build a community where people of all backgrounds could come together and celebrate who they are,” Ethan says. “From my own personal experience, it not only worked, it thrived. Those values taught me about the power of diversity – racially, religiously, and socioeconomically – as well as the importance of community involvement. Those are core tenets of Anchor Entertainment.”
With more than 25 years in the television and film industry, during which he worked with programs that were produced on MTV, Discovery, Bravo, and many other networks, Ethan’s ambition always was to help produce meaningful shows. Some of the important transitional works he helped develop occurred during his internship with documentary filmmaker David Sutherland. “He was producing a multi-part documentary for Frontline (PBS) called ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ about a family in Nebraska facing foreclosure of their farm due to economic hardship,” Ethan says. “Even though I was just logging and transcribing countless hours of interviews, it was a really rewarding experience, and instrumental in guiding my decision years later to pursue a career in documentary storytelling.”
Ethan emphasizes that being raised in Reston, where his family moved from Boston in 1978, contributed significantly to his career path, and he still reflects on the “many fond memories of growing up in Reston – from competing in swim meets for Upland, to lifeguarding and playing youth basketball and soccer in the community leagues. Reston was an ideal place to grow up.”
Anchor’s developmental approach and quality of its stories has resulted in numerous awards including, in part, a Realscreen Award for the series, “The Lost Kitchen;” two Telly Awards for Best Documentary and Best History Series; an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary for the MSNBC series, “Model America,” as well as recently being named one of the world’s Top 10 Factual Production Companies by Realscreen as part of its “Global 100” list. Anchor’s latest feature documentary, “Rather,” about the life of legendary newsman Dan Rather, can be seen on Netflix.
“We believe in the power of storytelling to unite, not divide,” Ethan says. “So much of what we do is about fostering community in the workplace at Anchor offices, among our industry colleagues with whom we collaborate, and with the audiences to whom we deliver these carefully crafted stories.”
Making an impact continues to be Ethan’s major objective. “My goal is to get involved with projects I care about deeply. Whatever I do has to be worth the emotional and financial investment. Each project is a massive time commitment, so I do everything I can to ensure that Anchor’s projects are ones that we are excited about spending the next two to four years making.”
Comentarios