Deadline: January 31,
2016
Urucu Media, under the mentorship of Berlinale Talents, in
partnership with Nirox, Durban FilmMart, Restless Talent Management, The French
Institute in South Africa and Institute Français's Cinémas du Monde will
present REALNESS, a screenwriters
residency for a new generation of African cinema.
From June to August 2016, five screenwriters will be invited
to attend a seven-week residency to develop a new draft of their original
feature screenplays. The aim of REALNESS
is to provide the necessary time, space and support to help the continent's
best emerging writing talents hone their unique cinematic vision.
Week 1: The
residency will kick off on June 16, 2016, with an introductory week at Durban
Filmmart, Africa's top co-production market. Residents will have the
opportunity to immerse themselves in films, attend seminars and present their
projects to industry professionals for feedback. Each resident will prepare a
public presentation of their project at the end of the week.
Week 2-6: Residents
will be transported to the Nirox artists residency in the Cradle of Humankind,
where they will spend six weeks working in a tranquil and nurturing living
environment. During the first week, top international script consultants will
conduct workshops and one-on-one sessions with the residents. Thereafter,
residents will work at their own pace, with ongoing support in the form of
workgroups with fellow writers, curated film screenings, producer-led case
studies and discussions with visiting industry speakers.
Week 7: In the
final week, residents will have a debriefing and follow up Skype-sessions with
their consultants. After leaving the residency, writers will be invited to
submit a new draft of their screenplay by September 30, 2016. The most
promising project to emerge from REALNESS
will be invited and funded to participate in the prestigious La Fabrique des
Cinémas du Monde in Cannes, 2017.
REALNESS
recognizes the real-life demands of most writers and that taking time to
develop a screenplay is not always economically viable. To this end, residents
will receive a stipend of R15,000 and all food and accommodation expenses will
be covered for the duration of their stay.
NB: Residents will be responsible for their own travel costs
to and from the residency. The organisers will assist in efforts to obtain
sponsorship from country culture desks, embassies and other interested
institutions.
While the residency will be conducted in English, REALNESS facilitators are also able to
do the training in French and/or Portuguese if participants are from
Francophone or Lusophone African countries.
The submission window runs up until January 31, 2016 (or
until 120 applications have been received, whichever comes first)
Applicants must submit ONE PDF dossier containing:
a motivation for wanting to participate in REALNESS (1 page)
a synopsis of the proposed feature project (1 page)
a treatment of the proposed feature project (6 pages)
a draft of the screenplay
a writer's note of intention (1 page)
a short biography (1 paragraph)
two links to samples of previously produced work, uploaded
to vimeo. If selected, residents will be required to donate one copy of their
previous work to the Nirox film library.
The call is open to screenwriters from across the African
continent and selection will be based on artistic merit. REALNESS will hold no legal claim over the work once the residency
is completed.
All submitted material must be in English. A committee
appointed by Urucu and their partners will read the project entries and conduct
interviews with a shortlist of candidates early in March. The REALNESS selection will be announced at
an event hosted by the pavilion Les Cinemas du Monde in Cannes, 2016.
Dossiers must be submitted to realness@urucumedia.com
For more information visit http://www.urucumedia.com
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