Irish Team Amongst Winners of Netflix Documentary Talent Fund
14th June 2023
Earlier this week, Netflix announced the five filmmaking teams who will receive funding and professional support to make a short documentary on the theme of “Connection,” as part of the second year of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund. Among the successful recipients is Irish team Anna Rodgers & Zlata Filipovic for TWO MOTHERS – An unusual bond compels an Irish mother of twins to travel to war torn Ukraine in order to rescue the woman who carried her babies.
Other recipients include:
Anna Snowball & Abolfazl Talooni – IRANIAN YELLOW PAGES, Iranians in London, trapped between two cultures, search for connection by placing weird and wonderful adverts in the Iranian Yellow Pages.
Caroline Williamson & Troi Lee – TURN UP THE BASS is the remarkable story of Troi Lee (aka ‘DJ Chinaman’), a deaf DJ and pioneer of the UK’s deaf rave scene, as he puts on his 20-year anniversary show.
Logan Rea & Krishna Istha – FIRST TRIMESTER follows a transgender performance artist as he interviews hundreds of potential sperm donors live on stage in a quest to find the perfect connection, one that will enable him and his partner to start their family.
Olivia Smart – BLACK PEOPLE CAN’T SWIM, Drowning isn’t an option as three people tackle their biggest fear.
Each team will now be empowered to produce a short documentary between 8-12 minutes long with a budget of £30,000 that will be released on Netflix’s YouTube channel in the New Year.
As part of the process they will now undergo bootcamp training from specialists at Netflix who will coach and host workshops covering all aspects of production including legal, creative, HR, production and finance.
The Netflix Documentary Talent Fund was created to break down barriers of access for emerging filmmakers. The initiative also provides them with a foundation of knowledge as well as hands on training in all aspects of the industry to allow them to flourish within their careers.
The fund to date has championed filmmakers from across the whole of the UK and Ireland, with Netflix supporting talent from Wicklow to Hackney and the Midlands to Bristol this year.
Kate Townsend, Documentary Features, Netflix said, “The five films we have selected to support, each offer a unique take on the theme of connection. From an amazing story about two mothers with a unique bond in Ireland, to uniting communities as part of the deaf rave scene in Hackney, we are very much looking forward to kicking off production on these documentaries and seeing what these filmmakers can achieve.
“The sky’s the limits!”
Pictured (l-r): Zlata Filipovic and Anna Rodgers © Hoda Davaine @Gettyimages
