UNESCO Transcultura launches a call to support the participation of young Caribbean film producers in the European Film Market

The programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, has launched a call for applications to sponsor the participation of five Caribbeans entry-level or mid-career film producers and producing filmmakers in the 2023 European Film Market (EFM) Toolbox Programmes, within the context of the next edition of the Berlin International Film Festival which will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 16 to 26 February 2023. A major event in the international film industry, the Berlinale is attended by around 20,000 professional visitors from over 100 countries. Through this initiative, the Transcultura programme promotes opportunities for young film industry professionals from the Caribbean by means of access to new markets. 

The Toolbox Programmes are initiatives organised by the EFM’s Diversity & Inclusion team. Aimed at entry-to-mid level feature-length film producers or producing filmmakers from the documentary or the fiction sector respectively, the Toolbox Programmes are designed specifically to endow documentary and fiction creatives from underrepresented groups with business tools and connections. Comprising access to networking and matchmaking events and additional business modules, the programmes provide a kit of transferable business know-how and connections under the guidance of a consultant and coordinators.

This UNESCO Transcultura call is aimed at young film producers and producing filmakers aged between 18 and 35, who are nationals and permanent residents of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The UNESCO Transcultura programme will fully cover the cost of participation of five young Caribbean film professionals, including the Market Badge (access pass) to participate in the European Film Market, the participation fee for the Toolbox Programme, and all international mobility and accommodation costs to/in Berlin during the EFM.

Applicants should follow these steps: 

1. Apply through the online application form to provide personal information, and information on a project in development or production they wish to pitch at EFM 
2. Send the following required materials in English to: transcultura.programme@unesco.org(link sends e-mail)

• National Identity Document / Valid Passport (preferred)
• CV
• Treatment of the feature film (max. 8 pages)

The deadline for submitting the applications is 4 December 2022, 23.59 Havana time (UTC-5). The selected participants will be announced in early December.

For more information on the European Film Market, please visit www.efm-berlinale.de 

For more information on the UNESCO Transcultura programme, please visit https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/havana/transcultura