Netflix announces short film competition and workshop initiative, Take Ten

Streaming giant Netflix is backing a new initiative, Take Ten, to support up-and-coming Indian filmmakers with a short film contest.

The ten winners of the competition, which is being held in association with entertainment journalism platform Film Companion, will be eligible to attend workshops with the top industry artistes and make their short films with a $10,000 (Rs7 lakh) grant for the Netflix India YouTube channel.

Take Ten is sponsored by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, which has dedicated $100 million a year over five years to setting underrepresented communities up for success in the TV and film industries through programmes all around the world.

“Take Ten is a celebration of storytelling and originality. The workshop and competition aim to be inclusive and showcase the diverse voices behind and in front of the camera in India,” Anupama Chopra, film critic, author and Film Companion editor, stated. “I hope Take Ten enables artists across India to find their footing and soar.”

Applicants must be Indian citizens or residents over the age of 18.

Registrations for Take Ten will open on 7 February here. To enter, applicants must submit a film of up to two minutes based on the topic ‘My India,’ which should be shot with their phone and represent who they are as a filmmaker. The applications will be reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Once shortlisted, in addition to getting their short film made, the chosen participants will also get a chance to learn the ropes of the industry from award-winning professionals such as filmmakers Abhishek Chaubey, Hansal Mehta, Karishma Dev Dube, Neeraj Ghaywan, Raj Nidimoru and Reema Kagti, producer Guneet Monga, music composer Amit Trivedi and writer Juhi Chaturvedi.