Netflix and UNESCO have partnered to launch an innovative short film competition titled ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’ across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Six winners will create short films that will premiere on Netflix in access multimedia content.
Winners of the competition will be trained and mentored by industry professionals and provided with a US$75,000 production budget to create short films that will premiere on Netflix in 2022 as an “Anthology of African folktales.”
One key aim of this competition is to discover new voices and to give emerging filmmakers in Sub-Saharan Africa visibility on a global scale. We want to find the bravest, wittiest, and most surprising retellings of some of Africa’s most-loved folktales and share them with entertainment fans around the world in over 190 countries.
The competition, which will be administered by Dalberg, opened on 14th October 2021 until 14 November 2021.
Each of the 6 winners will receive a production grant of US$75,000 (through a local production company) to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of industry mentors selected by UNESCO & Netflix to ensure everyone involved in the production is fairly compensated. In addition, each of the 6 winners will also receive $25,000.
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The competition is open to emerging filmmakers across Sub-Saharan Africa on the theme of “African Folktales, Reimagined.”
Folktales have always been an important way of passing on culture, heritage, and values to future generations, while constantly inviting people to reimagine their relevance to our contemporary societies.
This theme is inspired by the African Union 2063 Agenda’s Aspiration 5, which celebrates African cultural identity, common heritage, values, and ethics.
The competition aims to harness this important tradition with a modern outlook while leveraging new mediums of distributing artistic and creative content, like Netflix.
How To Apply
For the first round, applicants will be required to submit a synopsis of their concept (no more than 500 words) as well as links to a recent CV and a portfolio/ evidence of any past audiovisual work they have produced.
Applications can be submitted via https://bit.ly/3BKQebK from October 14th and will close on November 14th, 2021 at 11:59 PM (GMT).
Eligibility Criteria:
The competition is open to individuals seeking to venture into feature film development and production. Applicants must have a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years of demonstrable professional experience in the audio-visual industry.
Applicants must have developed and produced 1 to 2 theatrical feature films, television fiction, documentaries, or 2-3 short films and/or commercials.
Candidates must be a citizen of a Sub-Saharan African country and currently residing in Sub-Saharan Africa to apply. Applicants must be 18-35 years old at the time of submission.
Shortlisted finalists:
The shortlisted 20 candidates will be announced in January and will then be invited to a “How to Pitch to Netflix” workshop to guide them on how to prepare, polish, and present their film concepts.
An independent judging panel, under the guidance of UNESCO and Netflix, will choose the six winners, who will then develop their 12 to 20-minute short films under the guidance of industry mentors selected by Netflix and UNESCO.
Timeline:
October 2021 – Application portal opens on October 14th
November 2021 – Applications close on November 14th
January 2022 – Announcement of Top 20 finalists
January 2022 – Workshop on “How to Pitch to Netflix” for shortlisted candidates
February 2022- Shortlisted candidates invited to pitch final entries to mentors
February 2022 – Final selection via a Netflix and UNESCO joint judging panel
February 2022 – Announcement of 6 winners
Spring/Summer 2022 – Development, production & post-production of films
September/October 2022 – Launch of 6 films on Netflix service
Visit https://www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco/ for more information about the application process.
