Cinematical's Martha Fischer alerts readers to tonight's Ghetto Film School screening at Lincoln Center, the culmination of a nine-week filmmaking course for a selection of underprivileged teens in the South Bronx. And while Fischer rightly plugs GFS participants' opportunities to seek counsel from guests like Jodie Foster and Spike Lee, check out Rebecca Louie's piece in yesterday's Daily News to learn more about how immensely important this program has become in its sixth year:

Initially, the school was a Bronx storefront with 12 students, two computers and three cameras funded by $10,000 worth of personal donations. Over the years, it grew to its current home in the Parks Department, six Macintosh computers with editing program Final Cut Pro and 10 digital cameras. The school also gained support from industry insiders, and now boasts director David O. Russell (I [Heart] Huckabees, Three Kings) on its board of directors and the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Zack Posen and David Gale, president of MTV Films, on its advisory board.

And, thanks to a recent boost of $1 million in funding from the city, it will soon expand to a 12,000-square-foot facility in Hunts Point. … Money will also go to the school's additional programs, such as enviable internships (recent stints include Jim Jarmusch's new film Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray), filmmaking trips abroad, and the Digital Bodega, a student-run company available for commissioned projects.

And the name alone promises some sort of semi-ironic triumph. At any rate, the 2005 Ghetto Film School screening takes place at the Walter Reade Theater at 6 p.m.; admission is free with a $20 suggested donation. If you dare brave the CMJ contact high from across the street, you should definitely grab a look.