Palmtrees, a screenplay incubator, has established a development partnership with Neon, the indie studio behind “Anora” and “Parasite.” Eight to 10 writers from regions including Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania will be selected for the inaugural group.
Applications for the program open on March 31, and the deadline for submissions is June 1. To apply, writers from the eligible regions should submit a treatment and the first 15 pages of a feature-length genre screenplay.
Palmtrees was founded by Funa Maduka, and has grown out of the belief that some of the most intriguing stories and filmmakers are based in regions that have historically lacked “the infrastructure to develop them at the rigor the global market demands,” per a statement from the incubator.
“Some of the most vital voices in cinema today are emerging from places that have been historically underrepresented on the global stage. Neon is thrilled to partner with Funa and her team at Palmtrees to help identify and support this next generation of filmmakers,” said Tom Quinn, founder and CEO of Neon, in a statement
“Tom and his team have built something rare. Neon has done more to expand the definition of world cinema in the last five years than any company in the business. They take real creative bets and that instinct is the basis for our collaboration,” said Maduka in a statement.
Writers at every stage of their career are encouraged to apply — selection is not based on prior credits and rather the strength of a project. Through one-on-one work with story analysts, those selected will develop their scripts and take part in a three-week in-person residency. Writers will be compensated for their participation.
“The most seasoned screenwriters still fight writer’s block at 3 a.m. It is not a process that necessarily gets easier, but one that can remain exceptionally hard if you have never had attention. Sustained, serious, skilled attention. We built Palmtrees to provide it. There are extraordinary writers in these regions. What they lack is not talent,” added Maduka.
Before founding Palmtrees, Maduka spent six years leading international original films at Netflix. She is also credited with directing and producing the first Nigerian film to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Leave a Reply