Attention Black Filmmakers: The National Black Programming Consortium Fund Offers Support! – Candice Frederick reports
Forget the Oscars. And forget trying to seek acceptance from a blissfully broken Hollywood system that continues to stereotype and belittle the talent of people of color. The National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), based in Harlem, New York, wants to help bring black filmmakers’ projects to fruition with its second annual 360 Incubator and Fund. Read on…
Designed to harvest and pipeline nonfiction, multipart programs for broadcast, as well as web series and interactive/transmedia, helmed by black filmmakers, the NBPC’s 360 Incubator and Fund is one of the few initiatives that not only supports black filmmakers’ projects but also mentors on how to present and market to a mass audience.
Up to 10 projects will be selected to be NBPC Fellows through an application process and each filmmaker will be invited to attend a six-week program that will help them fine tune their project concept. The month-and-a-half program will culminate with a presentation at the Pitch Black Forum in October 2016, in front of a panel of industry executives and an audience of public media, cable, commercial and VOD professionals in New York City. From there, the panel will select three or four projects to move on to the pilot stage of production.
Those selected will receive $50,000 to $150,000 in development funds for their pilots.
To strengthen submissions, the NBPC is providing a series of informational webinars covering topics including audience research tactics, marketing considerations, turning long-form stories into multipart content, and general guidelines for the process. They’ll also offer digital office hours that will serve as a way for filmmakers to ask questions in a one-on-one setting with their team members.
The call for submissions ends on March 28, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Applications and more information on the 360 guidelines are available here. To learn more about the National Black Programming Consortium, visit their website.