Netflix partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to launch an innovative short film competition across Sub-Saharan Africa.
"We believe that a great story can come from anywhere, and be loved everywhere. Africa has a rich heritage of storytelling and a young population that is ready to step up and tell Africa’s stories, in all their multiplicity. We’re excited by the fresh new voices that are ready to tell the stories they were told by prior generations, to the world. Netflix has partnered with UNESCO to launch a short film competition, “African Folktales, Reimagined,” to find the bravest, wittiest, and most surprising retellings of some of Africa’s most-loved folktales. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got."
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”.
The final 6 storytellers will each win $25,000; each of them will also receive a production budget of up to $75,000 to create their short film.
The competition is open to individuals seeking to venture into feature film development and production. To be eligible, applicants must be under 35 years old, possess 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. They also must be citizen and resident of a Sub-Saharan African country.
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.
The competition, which will be administered by Dalberg. Applications can be submitted via www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco from 14 October at 16:00 CAT and will close on 14 November 2021.