U.S Embassy + Catalyst Story Institute accepting submissions from Story tellers

The U.S Embassy has partnered with the United States-based Catalyst Story Institute on a new international collaboration with “The Innovation Station” at the U.S. State Department and Careers in Entertainment founded by the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation!

This program seeks to discover content creators, like you, and advance your creative career within the global episodic marketplace. Up to five finalists from Nigeria and each of the other eligible countries will be selected.

Catalyst’s Storieroad is a step-by-step pathway of meetings, workshops, seminars, festivals, and social events designed to showcase your stories to the industry, advance your career opportunities, and grow your trusted professional network.

Catalyst is where relationships are made. Participants have gained jobs, signed with agents, sold projects, and made career partnerships through Storieroad.

Key Points

• A collaboration with the Innovation Station at the United States Department of State
• In partnership with Careers in Entertainment founded by the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation
• A Catalyst international showcase advancing new voices & storytellers from 10 countries on 6 continents
• Up to 5 finalists & 10 semi-finalists professionally selected from each country
• Free registration until April 15, 2021

Eligible Countries

• Algeria
• Brazil
• Canada
• Germany
• Hungary
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• South Korea
• Switzerland

Who Can Register

• Creators, writers, & producers with an independent series idea
• If a project has multiple creators, each person must register individually.
• Must be a citizen of at least one of the 10 countries listed. Dual-citizenship is allowed.

Types of Content Accepted

• Narrative/episodic/serialized content of any genre, length, style, and type: comedy, drama, thriller, scripted, unscripted, documentary, limited series, social media, influencer, short form,”half-hour”, “hour-long”, radio, podcast, reality, talk show, game show, animation, kids, gaming, VR, mobile, etc.​​
• Projects can be in any stage of development: pitch, script, in-production, post-production, or completed.​
• Your projects can have any number of episodes. Projects with an average runtime of 15 minutes or less per episode will be considered “short form”.
• Pitches and scripts must be in English. Videos can be in any language but must have English subtitles.

Types of Content Not Accepted

• Feature films

Rewards

Finalists will receive:​

• A showcase event in their home country celebrating their honor and displaying their work
• One full scholarship to Catalyst Storieroad for 1 year
• A meeting with Catalyst’s Executive team to discuss your career path & goals
• A creative meeting to discuss your project idea
• Access to pitch seminars & virtual educational events
• Your project will be automatically selected to be screened & presented at the annual Catalyst Content Festival in Duluth, Minnesota, USA
• 4 free VIP passes to the Catalyst Content Festival
• Your career profile & project info will be listed in our content database for industry executives to search & discover throughout the year

Semi-finalists will receive:

• A virtual meeting with Catalyst’s Executive team to discuss your career path & goals
• A virtual creative industry meeting to discuss your project idea & receive feedback
• 2 free VIP passes to the Catalyst Content Festival
• Please note: semi-finalists do not present at the showcase and are not screened at the festival

How to Apply

The team of industry professionals will select up to 5 finalists & 10 semi-finalists from each country. Selections will be notified no later than May 31, 2021. Kindly apply for free using the application button below. You are advised to visit the official link below for further information before you apply.

Apply Here

Visit the OFFICIAL PAGE for further information. DROP COMMENTS for questions/suggestions.