Hot Docs and Netflix have launched the Hot Docs Incubator as the newest pillar of their ongoing Canadian Storytellers Project initiative.

The program is designed for mid-career documentary filmmakers who have a feature-length project that shows creative and market potential. Five teams of up to two participants per project, with previous experience directing or producing documentaries, will be chosen for the program. They’ll receive intensive training over the course of eight months via a series of workshops focused on such topics as story, market preparedness, and career- or company-building.

Netflix will support each of the five projects with $35,000 in production funds, and the participants will also be provided with complimentary industry passes to the Hot Docs Festival in 2023 and 2024.

The program will conclude at the 2024 Hot Docs Festival, where teasers to highlight the upcoming projects will be screened for international decision-makers and industry delegates. Applications for the incubator are open until March 1.

The Hot Docs Canadian Storytellers Project, launched in 2018 with the support of Netflix, invests in core funding and professional development programs for Canadian filmmakers, with a focus on providing opportunities for documentary storytellers who are Indigenous, francophone, Deaf and/or have a disability or are persons of colour.

“Over the past four years, the Canadian Storytellers Project has brought to life numerous exceptional documentary projects from across the country, giving voice to non-fiction filmmakers and creating new opportunities in the industry,” said Paul Lewis, executive director of Hot Docs, in a news release.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen

Image courtesy of Hot Docs