Good news for those who were finding it difficult to get their proposals in within the very short time allowed, a decision has been made to extend the deadline for submissions of applications to the 30th May. This is further to facilitate the publicizing the program to a wider audience.
Remember that at this time it is only necessary to submit scripts, synopses, treatments, storyboards etc. as the partnership agreements and investment plans are only applicable to those who have been selected after the first cut.
Here's s all the pertinent info below!!
Cess Silver Directing Caribbean cult classic Shottas
Regional Caribbean Creative Industries Project:
Piloting a System of Cinematic & Entrepreneurship Motivation Awards (CEMAs) for
CARIBFilm DreamTeams
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Background and Context
1. To help promote and stimulate creative industries in the Caribbean region, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has responded to initiatives by the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) to pilot a system of Cinematic & Entrepreneurship Motivation Awards (CEMAs) to create CARIBFilm-DreamTeams. Focusing on the cinematic audiovisual sector, this joint development initiative has been expanded into a region-wide collaborative effort with several Caribbean institutions such as the Organization of English Caribbean States/Export Development Unit. Film industry groups engaged in regional outreach activities are also participating as members of the Regional Project Steering Committee, which is the collective face, voice and management task force of the project. Representatives from the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union are also directly involved and determined to contribute their institutional knowledge, expertise and extensive contacts in a unique process of technical assistance to promote capacity-building and networking.
2. The Regional Project Steering Committee held its inaugural session at the premises of Caribbean Export in Barbados on 17-18 February 2009 during which it decided to launch the present Call for Proposals addressed to film practitioners and producer-entrepreneurs in the Caribbean region.
CEMAs: the Cinematic & Entrepreneurship Motivation Awards
3. As conceived, the project is a pilot scheme to stimulate the multimedia audiovisual sector and constitutes a major conceptual innovation in that non-monetary awards will be given solely in terms of technical assistance interventions thus adding value to the chain of production involved in filmmaking. Importantly, no cash grants or direct funding by the project is implied by the granting of the awards.
4. The CEMAs, comprising technical assistance and business linkage inputs, will be provided over the next 18 months to inter-country production teams with a regional outreach during a phased programme corresponding to the main stages of the filmmaking process. The immediate objective is to facilitate the development of CARIBFilm DreamTeams to whom direct help will be given in their collective work of transforming their creative ideas into finished products as benchmarks for meeting global standards. CEMAs primarily acknowledge and emphasize a series of technical and entrepreneurial inputs as a value-added incentive for capacity-building and professionalising the support system for upgrading competencies and skills and integrating audiovisual practitioners into regional and international networks of investor producers, exhibitors and distributors.
5. The vision behind CEMAs is to reward creativity and innovation by facilitating the making of films with a distinct Caribbean identity as a decisive stimulus for Caribbean film producers/practitioners to establish a prominent niche on the cinematic world map.
Branding and Publicity of CEMAs: CARIBFilm DreamTeams filmpack
6. According to the operational strategy and work plan, the film products of the teams will be presented for screening before a group of invited international film directors at a Caribbean film festival in 2010. At that time, all the other film production teams that responded to the initial Call for Proposals as well as others that may have completed productions, will still be able to present their own finished products for screening and to compete for the Jury´s Special Prize, the Critics´Choice and the Public´s Choice. Along with the CEMA holders, the winners and their products will together form the CARIBFilm DreamTeams fllmpack. As an integral part of CEMAs, this collective output will then be promoted through the media and at regional and international film festivals as well as to potential distributors and producers for co-production ventures.
Selection of CEMA holders
7. An independent international jury will be formed to select the recipients for the CEMAs based on the basic curatorial concept of the project: that the quality of the cinematic outputs and end-products (comprising the filmpack of the CARIBFilm DreamTeams) should meet the world-class standards of the buyers and end-users as well as the stringent criteria for screening and exhibiting at international film festivals.
Ultimate Development Goal
8. The project recognizes that filmmaking is not only an overarching medium but also a production system that relies on value-added inputs from a variety of mostly micro and small creative enterprises and artisanal activities that have the potential to generate significant industrial spin-offs. Aside from the information and communications technology sector, tourism and the organization of cultural and media events present enormous possibilities for business linkages. Therefore, the aim of this development initiative is: (1) to set up and reinforce networks of people working in entrepreneurship and small enterprise development; (2) to identify good practice in the cinematic audiovisual sub-sector of creative industries; and (3) to share information among film practitioners on what actually works in the audiovisual sub-sector at the local, regional and international levels with a view to feeding into policymaking on the sub-sector.
9. Thus the ultimate development goal is to contribute towards establishing an environmental framework and industrial basis that will secure a means of livelihood for practitioners in the cinematic audiovisual sub-sector by harnessing resources and prospects for job creation and income-generation in the Caribbean region. In so doing, the project hopes to rally policy makers and stimulate entrepreneurial business linkages and synergies between film practitioners and thus enhance their potential contribution to developing the Caribbean region.
10. UNIDO has secured catalytic funding from the contribution of the Turkish Government to the Industrial Development Fund of UNIDO. Part of the work of the Regional Project Steering Committee is not only to carry out advocacy work among policy-makers and institutional providers of funds in order to secure further contributions to the project, but also to mobilize other resources to supplement the technical assistance and the start-up funds of the film production teams. This joint development initiative will therefore tap into and link up with cinema-oriented programmes; e.g. the National Film Commissions, the cinema programme by the European Union for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and promotional campaigns at international Filmfests/Cinemarts (e.g. Berlinale, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Toronto, Sundance and Viennale).
Guidelines for Submitting Proposals
Within the framework of the regional project, the following Guidelines are offered for the preparation and submission of Proposals which will open effectively on 7 April 2009 and close at 24:00 hours midnight, 30th May 2009, Eastern Caribbean time. Applications date stamped by the courier service as received before this deadline would be considered eligible.
1). What is called for? Applications are called for film projects that seek to promote a distinctive Caribbean identity and flavour as well as intra-country and entrepreneurial linkages among creative producers and practitioners from the audiovisual sector within the Caribbean region. The submissions must be made in the English language and may be on any theme. All genres are eligible, however, within the terms of this joint development initiative, no production can be libellous or pornographic, promote child abuse, promote hatred or incite racism.
2). Eligibility. Who may submit? Regional Film Production Teams are invited to apply where the Applicant and at least one Partner must be from two different Caribbean Community or CARIFORUM Countries. The Applicant and Partner(s) must be legal entities registered and resident in any Caribbean Community or CARIFORUM Country. The majority of the production must take place in the Caribbean Community or CARIFORUM country. (In other words, projects will only be considered from two or more applicant practitioners in the region working together as part of the film production team. (Although a team can submit more than one application, only one could make it to a common slate of films: feature (full length or shorts), documentaries, and animation/newmedia. Should more than one submission from the same team win in a slate, the team will have to choose only one of them for the award to make way for another team’s submission).
3). Genre and form? Film projects submitted should be in one or more of the filmic areas – features, documentary, animation – and should take account of developmental concerns under the project. The eligible categories (with time constraints that conform to international specifications) are:
Features between 85 and 110 minutes.
Feature short films between 15 and 60 minutes.
Documentary/docudrama between 30 and 90 minutes.
Animation between 15 and 30 minutes.
4). Legal Documents? It is important to attach the completed Partnership Agreement. Signed release forms must be submitted where applicable. The Partnership Agreement should be signed by the Applicant and Partner(s) or their legal representatives and should state:
a. How the responsibilities of the project are to be shared.
b. How the partners will be remunerated.
c. How will the outputs from the project be shared.
d. Who owns the tangibles bought for the project.
e. Who is responsible for the various duties relating to the project.
f. Any other agreement relevant to this project.
5) Parameters in terms of time and values? The value of each project proposed should be in the region of US$250,000 dollars maximum, but more costly projects will be considered provided all other criteria are met including the investment strategy. Project proposals should show how the amounts required will be made available as part of the investment and marketing strategy.
6) Any Cash or Grant-funding? As mentioned above, CEMAs are non-monetary awards that will be given solely in terms of technical assistance interventions thus adding value to the chain of production involved in filmmaking. Importantly, no cash amount nor grant funding by the project is implied by the granting of the awards in connection with this Call for Proposals. However, under the terms of the regional project, the UNIDO-Caribbean Partnership in general and the Steering Committee in particular will facilitate as well as enable networking by the production teams to mobilize and stimulate access to additional resources.
7) How to submit? Your application must be submitted in English and must be completed using the application form along with the requested annexes and according to the online formats/templates and guidance available on the website. Applicants must send six copies of the prospectus with synopsis and completed scripts (for features) or treatment and storyboard (documentaries, or animation) for each of the 5 judges plus the original. Applications are to be sent to:
Inez Wijngaarde
Private Sector Development Branch
United Nations Industrial Development Organization HQ,
Vienna, Austria
Tel. 0043 1 260263810
Fax. 0043 1 21346 3810
E-mail. HYPERLINK "mailto:i.wijngaarde@unido.org"i.wijngaarde@unido.org
8) What happens then? An independent jury will be commissioned to screen the proposals and select the film production teams that will be given Phase I CEMAs. These will constitute eligibility by the initially selected teams to participate in the first module of the value-adding chain of technical assistance through critical learning and quality upgrading inputs to refine their scripts. During Phase II or second module ten (10) film production teams will be facilitated in elaborating their projects into strategic plans and business propositions including pitching and defending their plans before investors/producers. During the next 3 stages from footage filming through editing/special effects production up to screening at film festivals, the film production teams will be facilitated to complete their products as a set of collaborative CARIBFilm DreamTeams: a creative and entrepreneurial venture by CEMA-recipients under a Joint Developmental Initiative of UNIDO-CARIBBEAN PARTNERS.
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