#SmallScreenScenes @PBS Releases Criteria for Emerging Filmmakers Open Call

This week, PBS released eligibility and submission criteria for its previously announced open call to amplify the voices of emerging and diverse/BIPOC content creators’ long- and short-form projects.

This PBS open call will provide support to content creators whose work explores a broad range of experiences, perspectives and points of view. As a system that serves every person in every community, representing the full range of the American experience is—and always has been—core to PBS’s work.

All submissions will be evaluated by a jury of experienced editorial executives, public media professionals and filmmakers. Recipients will be selected based on editorial merit, and PBS will determine the level of funding based on production status. Projects must be in the production stage or near completion and are subject to PBS’s editorial criteria.

“At PBS, our goal is to amplify diverse perspectives and compelling storytelling. With this open call, we are excited to support emerging and diverse filmmakers whose work furthers our mission to educate, inform, and spark curiosity in our audiences,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS.

Submission and eligibility criteria can be found below.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Filmmakers must download and complete the application, found here, and submit it to PBSOpenCall@pbs.org by April 16, 2021.

As part of the submission, each applicant will be asked to upload the following:

Application

PBS Submission Release Form

Filmmaker/Production Team Biography

Project Treatment

Line-Item Expense Budget

Production Schedule

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

The filmmaker or production entity must retain copyright and have the ability to clear the project for all PBS platforms.

Projects may have appeared at film festivals or on broadcast or digital platforms, but the filmmaker must currently hold the copyright or have the ability to grant project rights to PBS.

The filmmaker or production entity must have artistic, budgetary and editorial control over the proposed project.

Applicants must be 18 years of age at time of film submission.

Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the United States or its territories.

Applications should include link(s) to work sample(s) in the form of a sizzle reel, teaser video or selects from the project.

Applicants should have previous storytelling experience through a visual medium.

Selected projects may be distributed across PBS platforms such as PBS.org and PBS Digital Studios, and/or broadcast through PBS’s national and local schedules.

Full details and criteria can also be found here. For more information on producing partnerships, visit the Producing for PBS page on PBS.org.

About PBS

PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 126 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices.