More often than not, aspiring filmmakers have various ideas that never come to fruition due to the lack of funds. As frustrating as it might be, financial constraints serve as an enormous barrier in filmmaking. Netflix, a massive streaming service, has a sufficient amount of money to fund indie filmmaking.
The streamer has decided to invest £1.5m to find new filmmakers in the United Kingdom and help them make their debut feature.
To usher in a new generation of “bold, distinctive” storytellers from the UK, the streamer is willing to invest £1.5m in upcoming directors, writers or producers. They will have the creative liberty to choose any genre, across sci-fi, romance, crime thrillers and more.
Netflix will be announcing the project, titled Breakout, today and are driven by the underlying principle of “daring filmmaking” helping “drive commercial as well as critical success” across “all backgrounds”.
The project will encourage the underrepresented groups to submit their work and create a diverse space of various voices and experiences. They will also accept applications from other creative sectors, including theatre, video games, TV, commercials, online content, music promos, short films, graphic novels etc.
The streamer will handpick at least one project from six shortlisted filmmakers who will receive £30,000 to develop their projects while being mentored by some big names from the industry.
Manager of UK films, Hannah Perks, commented on Breakout by saying, “They’re [Filmmakers] not going to have to think about putting that financing together – and their film will be shown on Netflix globally. It’s every filmmaker’s dream to have a global release.”
She referred to His House filmmaker, Remi Weekes, talking about how he made shorts and commercials before landing his spooky debut feature as the Netflix Original that spoke about the harrowing refugee experience.
Breakout is a lovely platform to showcase diverse talent to encourage more British filmmakers. Perks said, “It’s about giving them a really healthy budget to make something that can be on Netflix and hopefully kickstart their career as filmmakers – especially British filmmakers, making commercial films our audiences love.”
Streaming in nearly 190 countries, Netflix is the most popular streamer in the United Kingdom with almost 14 million subscribers, gaining more popularity with Originals like Sex Education, The Crown, The Witcher, Top Boy etc.
