Netflix has broadcast the initiation of a three-month coaching program in story composing and after post-production for film and TV professionals in Africa.
In a public statement made out there to The PUNCH, the film streaming service platform referenced the coaching was sub-divided right into a three-month coaching program with 12 African members and an APost Lab post-production workshop for movie and TV professionals.
It added that the three-month coaching program would run in partnership with Realness Institute and can be targeted on Nigeria, South-Africa, and Kenya.
According to Netflix, the choice course of for the 12 members commenced in 2020 as over 500 purposes have been acquired from candidates throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
It said the 12 creatives were chosen from Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe to participate in the inaugural training, which would run until September 2021.
“There’s an African humanist philosophy called ‘Ubuntu’, which broadly means, ‘I am, because you are’. This idea that ‘we are, because of others’ aptly captures the essence of Netflix’s approach to its partnership with Africa’s creative industries because, without the existence of our storytellers, our favourite Netflix stories wouldn’t be possible.
“Africa has an amazing pool of talent — both in front and behind the camera — and we are committed to investing in African stories and talent long-term. We also recognise that being part of the creative communities comes with responsibilities, in particular, the need to develop the talent pipeline and give new voices a chance to be heard.”
The streaming giant revealed that the training would be in two phases;
- The Episodic Lab and
- The Development Executive Traineeship
The Episodic Lab
For the Episodic Lab, writers were selected based on their story ideas and would develop the concepts alongside expert story consultants and creative producers.
The statement further revealed that writers would also undergo creative training and receive feedback from the Netflix team, adding that at the end of the lab, each writer would have an opportunity to pitch their incubated concept to Netflix to have their series further developed for production.
The Development Executive Traineeship
For the Development Executive Traineeship, Netflix said the training would bolster the technical skills of participants by partnering them with the EPL writers to develop story concepts into quality productions, which would create opportunities for them to work with national film bodies, film commissions, philanthropists, story consultants and critics.
“We want to do more to educate and empower those in the industry, and those hoping to break through. We want to be a good partner for Africa’s creative industries. We are energised and excited by the many opportunities that lie ahead for us to help strengthen the quality of African storytelling and to bring fresh voices to our members in Africa and around the world,” Netlfix said.
