Twenty-one candidates were selected following a rigorous evaluation process by a wide range of industry professionals from across the continent who assessed over 2080 applications from across the continent in multiple languages. The shortlist contains a dynamic group of African creatives from across 13 countries in the region.
The shortlisted filmmakers include (in no particular order):
The 21 emerging filmmakers will go on to the next phase of the competition where they will be required to pitch their stories to a judging panel comprising of the mentors; Nigeria’s Femi Odugbemi, South Africa’s Bongiwe Selane, Leila Afua Djansi from Ghana, David Tosh Gitonga from Kenya, and Jean Luc Herbulot from Congo as well as representatives from Netflix and Unesco who will act as guides in the process.
The panel will select the final six filmmakers who will receive a production grant of $75,000 (through 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. Each of the six winners will also receive $25,000.
