Be a Part of Netflix & UNESCO’s Short Film Competition – African Folktales, Reimagined

Be a Part of Netflix & UNESCO’s Short Film Competition – African Folktales, Reimagined 

Netflix has partnered with UNESCO to launch an innovative short film competition titled ‘African Folktales, Reimagined,’ to discover emerging filmmaking talent across sub-Saharan Africa. The competition will look out for the bravest, wittiest, and most surprising retellings of some of Africa’s most-loved folktales. Six final winners will create short films that will premiere on Netflix in access to multimedia content.

“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. 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. The knowledge that builds communities, nations and unites the world in shared understanding and experience.”

The streamer believes Africa’s rich history of storytelling, from universal tales to hyper-local fables, provides a fertile ground for creative retelling. The short film competition will, however, be 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

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Eligibility

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

How to Apply

Interested persons will need to submit a synopsis of their 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 they have produced. 

Shortlisted Finalists

The top 20 finalists will be announced in January and will be invited to the “How to Pitch to Netflix” workshop. This will give them the chance to prepare, polish, and present their 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.”

Deadline

The application will close on November 14th, 2021 at 11:59 PM (GMT). 

For more information, visit netflix-growcreative.com/unesco/