Netflix UNESCO Short Film Competition 2022 for emerging Filmmakers across Sub-Saharan Africa

Application Deadline: November 14th, 2021

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. 

Folktales have always played an important role in the heritage of a culture, passing down values, knowledge, and customs from one generation to the next. Knowledge that builds communities, nations and unites the world in shared understanding and experience.

This is an opportunity to reimagine the relevance of these tales to our contemporary society and extend them to the world stage on-screen: a celebration of Africa’s profoundly varied culture, folklore, and heritage. This competition invites submissions from emerging filmmakers across Sub-Saharan Africa on the theme of “African Folktales, Reimagined”.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• You are under 35 years old
• You are a citizen and resident of a Sub-Saharan African country
• You are a filmmaker with limited experience, but have developed and produced 1- to 2 theatrical feature films, television fiction, documentaries, or 2-3 short films and/or commercials seeking to venture into feature film development and production

Requirements

• 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.
• All genres welcome! Look at this brief as creative ignition — see where the theme takes you.
• You will submit a concept synopsis that should give us a clear idea of your creative vision and artistic angle.

Benefits

• Be a part of the new generation that shares Africa’s dazzling folktales — and just be sure to put your own fresh twist on it.
• Shortlisted finalists will have the opportunity to take part in “How to Pitch to Netflix” workshops.
• These will give you the chance to prepare, polish, and present your film concepts with the help of industry experts.
• The Netflix and UNESCO judging committee will then mentor six winners to develop a 12 to 20-minute short film.
• 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 collection of winning films will be launched on Netflix in 2022 as an “Anthology of African Folktales, Reimagined.”

How to Apply

How to apply

• Applications openApplications will open from October 14th, 2021 via this website. They will close on November 14th, 2021 at 11:59 PM (GMT).
• Submit synopsisYou will need to submit a synopsis of your concept (no more than 500 words) in a Creative Statement as well as a link to a recent CV and a portfolio of any past audiovisual work you have produced.
• The shortlistWe’ll announce our top 20 finalists in January who will then be invited to a “How to Pitch to Netflix” workshop.
• The finalistsOur final 6 winners will be selected by an independent judging panel guided by Netflix and UNESCO.

Timeline

• 
  OCT—2021 Application portal opens on October 14th
• NOV—2021 Applications close on November 14th
• JAN—2022 Announcement of Top 20 finalists
  
  Workshop on “How to Pitch to Netflix” for shortlisted candidates
• FEB—2022Shortlisted candidates will be invited to pitch final entries to mentors
  
  The final selection will be made by an independent judging panel under the guidance of Netflix and UNESCO.
• SPRING—2022Development, production & post-production of films
• SEPT—2022Launch of 6 films on Netflix service

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Netflix UNESCO Short Film Competition 2022