Netflix and Unesco have collaborated to launch an innovative short film competition titled ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’ across Sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of discovering new voices and giving emerging filmmakers in Sub-Saharan Africa global visibility.
The competition’s winners will be trained and mentored by industry professionals and given a US.dollars 75 000 production budget to create short films that will premiere on Netflix in 2022 as an ‘Anthology of African Folktales’.
In an interview on Tuesday, Unesco Namibia Public Information and Visibility Associate Luise Mwanyangapo told Nampa the competition opened on 14 October 2021 and will run until 14 November 2021. Each of the six winners will receive the production grant (via a local production company) to develop, shoot and post-produce their films under the guidance of Netflix and industry mentors to ensure everyone involved in the production is fairly compensated.
In addition, each of the six winners will receive a cash prize of US.dollars 25 000.
“Unesco and Netflix both believe strongly in the importance of promoting and sharing diverse local stories with the rest of the world. Many emerging filmmakers struggle to find the resources and visibility they need to fully unleash their talents and advance their creative careers. This competition aims to address these issues and provide an opportunity for African storytellers to take the first step toward showcasing their work to a global audience,” she stated.
Mwanyangapo added that this collaboration will also help to create long-term jobs and encourage economic growth, contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which aims to end global poverty in all of its forms by the end of this decade.
“This film competition will also contribute to the reduction of inequalities by facilitating access to global markets and ensuring dignified working conditions. All of these are key objectives of the 2030 Agenda,” she stated.
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 portfolio/evidence of any previous audiovisual work they have produced for the first round.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
