MUMBAI: The Los Angeles based Holy Wood Acting Studio opened on 25 March to unearth talented actors with the "emotional and spiritual maturity" to endure the challenges in their careers.

"The opening of Holy Wood Acting Studio represents a new era for the entertainment industry, an era where actors will not only thrill audiences with amazing performances, but also inspire them through moral, intellectual, and spiritual integrity," the Studio said in a statement.

Participants at the event helped create an inspiring and exciting atmosphere they hope will set the tone for many years of actor training and personal development, the Studio said.

Holy Wood Studio is unique in its incorporation of the late Pope‘s approach to spirituality.

The studio‘s operational director Max Espinosa opened the event, explaining the aim of the studio is to prepare students to be both successful actors and complete human beings.

He noted the "Four Pillars" of the study program: Acting, Personal Growth and Development, Leadership, and Health and Fitness. These are combined with Pope John Paul II‘s Theology of the Body to produce actors who are masters of the craft and masters of themselves.

Holy Wood acting studies will open its three-month summer programme on 12 June. Another of its programs begins on Sept. 8 and lasts for a whole academic year.

The programs aim to provide flexible options for acting students looking to maximize their personal and professional development.
The studio‘s base of operations, Culver City in West Los Angeles County, bills itself as "the Heart of Screenland." It is also the home of Sony Pictures Studios.