Here’s how you can apply
How do you solve a problem like inequality in Hollywood? Well, if your name is Cate Blanchett, you launch a fund that will help support women, trans and non-binary filmmakers so they can get their foot in the door.
Blanchett and Coco Francini, the co-founder of her film company Dirty Films, have partnered with Dr Stacy L Smith and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, as well as Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, to launch the Proof of Concept accelerator programme.
The initiative is designed to “accelerate the path to large-scale filmmaking for directors who give voice to the perspectives of women, trans and non-binary people”. To do this, eight filmmakers will be provided with $50,000 to make a short film that acts as a “proof of concept” for a larger TV show or feature film.
Those eight filmmakers will also be provided with one-to-one mentorship by leading figures working in the industry, culminating in a showcase where the filmmakers can present their work.
In an interview with People, Blanchett said that the initiative was partly borne out of her experiences on an unnamed film set where she was the only woman, both in front and behind the camera. “My shoulders sank,” she added. “I wasn’t angry, I was disappointed.”
Blanchett’s experiences as a women in Hollywood, along with data compiled by Dr Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, highlighted the need for more work to be done in order to tackle the problem.
“Homogeneity in any industry is the death of progress and innovation,” Blanchett told People. “That’s certainly the case for the creative industries. When you walk onto a set that is homogenous, you can sort of taste the outcome. The things that breakthrough that are fresh, that have influence for the next decade, always start because someone took a risk on them.”
Filmmakers wishing to apply must be aged over 21, and be legally permitted to live and work in the United States, as they will be required to do so for the duration of the programme.
When it comes to experience, the initiative is open to anyone with a minimum of five years of professional experience in TV, film or the visual arts, or to those who are enrolled in the final year of an MFA film programme. You must have also previously directed at least one short film, which will act as a sample of your work.
Those applying will need to provide a personal statement, examples of previous work, a CV, letters of recommendation and, if relevant, academic credentials. They will also have to submit a script for the short film they are hoping to make, along with a treatment or script for the film or TV show that acts as a proof of concept.
Most importantly, however, those applying will need to show “demonstrated capacity to tell a story that focuses on the perspectives of women, trans, and non-binary people” and “interest in supporting women, trans, and non-binary cast and crew”.
Applications for the Proof of Concept initiative open on 3 January 2024. For more information about the application process visit pocaccelerator.org.