From "A Series of Small Things," the short film shot in Chicago, including Doug Jones (Hellboy). Alex is in the red hat, Steve is in the white hat.

Film Student Works On Historic Gospel Documentary! When Entertainment Connection Film Division graduate Alex Lee was searching the Internet last year, he had no idea how quickly he would become immersed in the film and video industry. But once he got rolling, his career really took off! "I was searching online for a way to get into the biz," Alex recalls, "when I ran into the Entertainment Connection Web site. It cost so much less than any college, that I figured I'd check it out." On his second mentor interview, Alex hooked up with his mentor, Steve Ordower: president of Rhythm & Light, a full-service film and TV production company. Luckily for both, it was a match made in heaven.

"Though I agreed to meet with Alex, I was hesitant to take on an intern," Steve explains. "I thought, 'As busy as I am, how am I going to spend the time and make it worth his while?' But I set aside a half hour for the interview, and an additional half an hour just in case we ran over."

The two ended up meeting for more than three hours.

"It was a very interesting experience," Steve says. "I was surprised at how astute Alex was, and impressed by his interest level. I mean, he had read everything about our company before coming in!"

Steve decided to take Alex on as an apprentice, and it turned out to be beneficial for both. "Because of the context of the program, it was very different from a standard internship," Steve points out. "It was a mentorship.

Together, the two worked on a 7-part documentary on Gospel, including grammy-award winning Gospel singer/songwriter Jesse Dixon, who toured with Paul Simon.

Connections Alex made during that project led to a position as 2nd Assistant Director on a behind-the-scenes look at a George Foreman infomercial -- a documentary produced by Greg Jackson (Barbershop, The Company, etc.). Currently, Alex is up for positions on a couple of feature films.

"Because of connections I made through Steve, I got so busy with other work that I haven't been able to devote much time to him!" raves Alex.

One of other the advantages of working in and making contacts through the industry is having feedback on your own work. Alex wrote a short film, and got valuable advice from Steve, Cameraperson/Director Jim Andre, and others.

All in all, it was an ideal way for Alex to break into the industry, as mentor Steve Ordower can attest: "I wish I had an internship like this when I was starting out!"