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South Africa’s Showmax Launches Open Call For Live-Action Films From First-Time African Filmmakers  

South African streamer Showmax has partnered with the Joburg Film Festival to launch an open commissioning brief. This is to the African film industry calling for pitches to fill a slate of 10 live-action films.

All submitted proposals must have a first draft screenplay and be set in contemporary Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, or South Africa, with a first-time director attached who is a resident or citizen in those countries.

All official Ghanaian, Kenyan, Nigerian, and South African languages are welcome. The final films should be more than 40 minutes which is in line with the SAFTAs Best Made-for-TV Movie Award category.

Relevant : SHOWMAX BOOK ADAPTATION BRIEF

Story pitches are required to be in English and recorded as a video that is no longer than five minutes. Showmax said the pitch must also include short bios of the writer, director, and producer. A concise summary of the story, including the ending; an introduction to your lead characters and a discussion of your chosen genre and stylistic approach, with visual references.

Submissions will open on February 1 on Showmax’s website. Entries close on April 1. The selected projects will be announced in the second half of 2023 and screened on Showmax in 2024.

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Image on sinemite.com about Showmax partnership with joberg film festival
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Showmax Book Adaptation Brief

Showmax is welcoming exciting proposals from Kenyan producers for a literary adaptation series based on or inspired by a Kenyan book. The proposed series should be made up of 8 or 16 episodes. Limited series are also welcome

Proposal Requirements
  • Logline: summary of the series (no more than 30 words).
  • Summary of Book: its story, appeal, and publisher information.
  • Character bios of main key characters – not more than 4 characters. (Their goals, needs, desires and weaknesses)
  • Episode Breakdowns: Highlight the beginning, middle, and end of each episode in a couple of sentences.
  • Series Lookbook and Moodboard: Picture collage that gives us a glimpse of how the series will look like in terms of cinematography and production design, mood, and tone.
  • Company profile &Team: Who are the filmmakers behind the project? What have you done previously? Who will be doing what?
  • Publisher Agreement: Agreement with publisher confirming option rights to the said book. If the agreement process is not completed, please provide a letter of intent from the publisher stating the timelines for the rights clearance.
  • Preliminary Budget: How much will it cost to produce each episode?
  • Showreel: A link to your showreel or sample of your work, no longer than 3 minutes.
  • References: Please include contact details for three references. References cannot include M-Net personnel.
Completed scripts are not necessary at the stage of submission.

Presentation must not be more than 15 slides.

Technical and editorial standards required will be set out in the production agreement.

Showmax will have the final editorial and creative control over all aspects of the Commissioned Movie.

The Evaluation/Selection Process

Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged by email notification. Only shortlisted applications will be invited for pitches.

Our selection process will take roughly 12 weeks. If you don’t hear from us within 90 days after submissions deadline, consider your application unsuccessful.

Deadline for Submissions: 20th February 2023.

More details here