Realness Institute in Partnership with Netflix Announces Selections for Its ‘Writers Episodic Lab’ and ‘Development Executive Trainee’ Programs
The 3-month program will run from June till September 2021.
First announced in November last year, the Episodic Lab (EPL) will focus on content development for writers with film and TV experience in any genre (fictional or factual) or language from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Running alongside is the Development Executive Traineeship (DET), with the participants focusing on the story development process.
From the submissions, six writers will be selected to work on their projects alongside expert Story Consultants and Creative Producers during the three-month duration of the program. They will then have the opportunity to pitch their projects to Netflix for possible further development and commissioning for production. Six professionals will also be selected into the DET program to understudy and work alongside the story consultants and creative producers in the development process.
The Institute received about 500 applications, and 12 industry professionals from Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, were selected for the inaugural edition of the program. Six are for the Writers Episodic Lab, while the other half is for the Development Executive Traineeship.
The selected participants for the Episodic Lab are Andile Ngcizela with Drummies (South Africa); Ayoade Adeyanju with Agent 419 (Nigeria); Dominique Jossie with Fafi (South Africa); Kehinde Joseph with Osupa (Nigeria); Kudakwashe Maradzika with Bad Influencer (Zimbabwe / South Africa) and Mary Waireri with Sheitain (Kenya / United Kingdom).
The selected participants for the Development Executive Traineeship are Anneke Villet (South Africa); Antionette Engel (South Africa); Damaris Irungu Ochieng’ (Kenya); Lara Sousa (Mozambique); Ololade Okedare (Nigeria) and Thandeka Zwane (South Africa). They will be a part of the story development journey for the 6 potential Netflix African Original Series.
According to the Institute, the purpose of the traineeship is to build a critical missing capacity in the local media ecosystems with the hopes of expanding this expertise across the continent to help bolster the quality of work produced.
Mehret Mandefro, Director of Development and Partnerships at the Realness Institute, says, “the opportunity to pay writers and development executives to be mentored as they develop local content for Netflix is a gamechanger for these markets because development is often the weakest link in the value chain when it comes to creating content.”
“We’re excited about the 12 candidates chosen to be part of this program that will bring fresh and incredible new stories to our members around the world. We’re looking forward to this opportunity to develop and nurture the talent pipeline for the next three months and ultimately, give new voices from Africa a chance to be heard on our service,” says Alison Triegaardt, Netflix Manager for Grow Creative in Africa.
The Lab will run remotely from June 13, 2021, to September 5, 2021. All 12 participants will receive a monthly stipend so they can fully dedicate their time to the program.
