Greta Gerwig, Lily Gladstone Join Proof of Concept Program to Elevate Underrepresented Perspectives in Film

The Proof of Concept accelerator program, which aims to elevate the perspectives of women, trans and nonbinary people by financially backing short proof of concept films, has gained significant firepower in the form of eight new teammates.

Chloe Zhao, Emma Corrin, Eva Longoria, Greta Gerwig, Jane Campion, Janicza Bravo, Lily Gladstone and Lilly Wachowski have joined the Proof of Concept selection committee to help support this next generation of filmmakers, the program announced on Monday.

The accelerator was announced in December and was launched by Cate Blanchett, Dirty Films producer Coco Francini and Annenberg Inclusion Initiative founder Dr. Stacy L. Smith. Supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, the program is designed to not only financially back films that elevate these underrepresented perspectives, but also provide mentorship and publicly showcase the completed films.

Alongside program leadership, the selection committee will evaluate submissions from Proof of Concept finalists. Ultimately, eight filmmakers will be selected to take part in the program. Participants selected will receive $50,000 to support the creation of a short film, be mentored by industry experts, and their films will be screened at a showcase later this fall.

Applications for Proof of Concept closed in February and the final participants will be announced later this spring. The program received over 1,200 applications.

“We are profoundly grateful for the partnership of these members of the Proof of Concept selection committee, made up of not only some of the most talented and prolific storytellers working today but those who are also dedicated to creating change in our industry and our world.” said Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini, and Dr. Stacy L. Smith. “By extending a hand to this next generation, these filmmakers are creating an ecosystem of change that we aim to grow exponentially as a result of this accelerator.”

“This committee is a stellar group of filmmaking talent,” said Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer of Netflix. “Each of these visionaries has moved audiences around the world and I look forward to seeing how their support paves the way for future filmmakers.”

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