Proof of Concept Accelerator Assembles Powerhouse of Talent for Selection Committee

The Proof of Concept Accelerator is excited to unveil its selection committee, consisting of ten members of the entertainment industry with decades of experience and a shelf of top accolades. The program, supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, was announced in December 2023 by Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett and Emmy®-nominated producer Coco Francini of Dirty Films, and Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. It is designed to produce audaciously authored work that elevates the perspectives of women, trans, and non-binary people by financially backing short proof of concept films, providing mentorship, and publicly showcasing the completed films.

The Proof of Concept Selection Committee includes:

• Cate Blanchett

• Janicza Bravo

• Jane Campion

• Emma Corrin

• Coco Francini

• Greta Gerwig

• Lily Gladstone

• Eva Longoria

• Dr. Stacy L. Smith

• Lilly Wachowski

• Chloe Zhao

These industry titans have a collective 14 Academy Award nominations and 6 wins, 25 Golden Globe Award nominations and 8 wins, 26 Screen Actors Guild nominations and 7 wins, 5 Director’s Guild Award Nominations and 2 wins, and 8 Emmy Award nominations. Across the 197 films that the group has worked on throughout their careers, they have earned more than $16 billion in global box office revenue.

“We are grateful for the willingness of so many industry leaders to come together and support this accelerator,” said Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini, and Dr. Stacy L. Smith. “This demonstrates the capacity for some of the most talented and prolific storytellers to extend a hand to the next generation and offer their insight and influence to see these filmmakers succeed.”

"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."

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. Selected participants will be given $50,000 to support the creation of a short film, receive mentorship from industry experts, and have their films screened at a showcase later this fall. 

Applications for Proof of Concept closed on February 16 and the final participants will be announced later this spring. The program received a deluge of interest, with over 1,200 applications.

The applicant pool represents an incredibly diverse group of filmmakers, with demographics of people who represent marginalized genders, races and ethnic groups over indexing entertainment industry averages. Of all applicants, 85% identified as women, 2% as men, and 9% as non-binary. A total of 8.5% were transgender. From 2007 to 2023, only 6% of the directors of the 1,700 top-grossing movies were women, and only 2 were transgender. 

The applicants also represented a range of racial/ethnic groups: 16% were Black/African American, 13% were Hispanic/Latino, 14% were Asian, 5% were Middle Eastern/North African, 2.2% were Indigenous, and 1.2% were Multiracial/Multiethnic. Overall, 52% were people of color. In comparison, 22.7% of directors of the top-grossing films between 2007 and 2023 were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. In addition, the applicant pool for Proof of Concept also outperformed the percentage of top-grossing film directors across racial/ethnic groups.

“Filmmakers from these communities are currently overlooked for the top jobs, but when we reached out, they answered our call. The overwhelming response to Proof of Concept is a demonstration to the greater entertainment industry that there is a vast group of underrepresented filmmakers with the interest and talent to graduate to large-scale filmmaking. Our goal is to now showcase the remarkable array of voices that are ready to be hired,” said Blanchett, Francini, and Dr. Smith.

The accelerator is designed to address the ongoing disparities facing women, trans, and non-binary people in top-grossing films. According to data from Dr. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, across the 1,700 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2023, only 6% of directors were women and 31% of leads/co-leads were women. The Proof of Concept accelerator intends to address these gaps by supporting audaciously authored work that will break into the highest levels of filmmaking.

More details about the Proof of Concept program are available at http://pocaccelerator.org.