The competition’s winners will receive industry training and mentoring, as well as a US$75,000 production budget, to create short films that will premiere on Netflix in 2022 as an “Anthology of African Folktales.”
One of the competition’s main goals is to find fresh perspectives and provide young filmmakers from Sub-Saharan Africa with global exposure. We want to uncover the most daring, witty, and unexpected retellings of some of Africa’s most beloved folktales and share them with entertainment enthusiasts in over 190 countries.
The tournament, which will be run by Dalberg, will run from October 14th until November 14th, 2021. Each of the six winners will get a US$75,000 production grant (via a local production firm) to create, shoot, and post-produce their films with the help of industry mentors chosen by UNESCO and Netflix to guarantee that everyone is engaged in the production is appropriately compensated. In addition, each of the six winners will get a cash prize of $25,000 apiece.
Both UNESCO and Netflix agree on the importance of promoting and sharing varied local stories with the rest of the globe. They recognise that many aspiring filmmakers struggle to get the resources and exposure they need to fully realize their potential and advance their creative careers. This competition aims to address these difficulties and provide a platform for African storytellers to showcase their work to a worldwide audience.
This alliance will also assist to create long-term jobs and stimulate economic growth, contributing to the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, a set of goals aimed at ending global poverty in all of its forms by the end of this decade. This film festival will also contribute to the reduction of disparities by allowing access to global markets and ensuring decent working conditions. All of these are important targets for the 2030 Agenda.
On the theme of “African Folktales, Reimagined,” the competition is accessible to young filmmakers from across Sub-Saharan Africa. Folktales have long been a vital means of transmitting culture, tradition, and values to future generations, while also challenging people to reimagine their significance in modern cultures. Aspiration 5 of the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, which celebrates African cultural identity, common heritage, values, and ethics, inspired this theme. This competition strives to modernize this essential tradition by utilising new platforms for sharing artistic and creative content, such as Netflix.
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 www.netflix-growcreative.com/unesco from October 14th at 16:00 CAT and will close on November 14th, 2021 at 13:59 CET.