Amazon Studios-Indigenous Screen Office Half-Hour Scripted & Unscripted Series Pitch Competition
DEADLINE: March 5, 2021 at 5:00pm PST
Program guidelines: https://iso-bea.ca/amazon-studios-iso-pitch-program-guidelines/
The deadline has passed and the application portal is now closed.
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The ISO is partnering with Amazon Studios to provide Canadian Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour screen-content creators the opportunity to develop a half-hour scripted or unscripted series pitch in English for presentation to executives for Amazon Prime Video.
ISO will work with the Black Screen Office on the pitch program and with our community of collaborators to ensure extensive outreach, including with REMC, BIPOC TV & Film and Canada’s film festivals and organizations serving Indigenous and racialized screen creators.
As part of its Amazon Prime Video Canada Local Originals mandate, Amazon Studios is seeking premium English-language half-hour scripted and unscripted content for its Canadian slate. The ISO will organize a pitch event to Amazon Studios executives in early April 2021 (dates TBC) and is seeking applications from Canadian BIPOC content creators. Amazon Studios’ main requirement is that these projects “feel authentically, specifically, and inextricably Canadian, and that they show an array of points of view on ‘Canadian-ness’ from all genders, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, immigration statuses, and much more.”
Amazon Studios is particularly seeking half-hour series targeted at Young Adults (ages 16-30), projects set in cities, and voice-driven comedies or dramedies along the lines of FLEABAG or UNDONE. Horror, thrillers, adult animation, and dramas are also eligible, but must be half-hours. Amazon Studios prioritizes series that “feel edgy, contemporary, grounded, and premium.” The following series formats are not eligible for this pitch competition: procedurals, children’s series, sketch comedy, soaps, period settings, hard sci-fi/fantasy, crime dramas, documentaries, limited series, features, or multi-camera comedies.
A maximum of 10 projects led by BIPOC creators will be selected by representatives of Amazon Studios and the Indigenous Screen Office.
Each of the selected project teams will receive $10,000 CAD for development of their pitch, which they will present to executives from Amazon Studios during a two-day pitch event held in early April 2021. Due to continued pandemic restrictions, the pitch will be conducted via video conference.
Please note, being selected for the pitch day event does not guarantee that your project will advance to further development stages with Amazon Studios.
Additional information and requirements for submission are detailed in the Guidelines and must be adhered to as specified or the project submission will be considered ineligible.
If you have barriers to access including but not limited to language, internet or physical barriers, please contact the ISO to determine appropriate accommodations and potential Application Assistance support at: funding@iso-bea.ca.
Before applying, please read the guidelines here: https://iso-bea.ca/amazon-studios-iso-pitch-program-guidelines/
The application form is here: http://bit.ly/ISOAmazonPitchProgramForm
