Apply To HBO Max’s Shorts Program For Underrepresented Talent

Warnermedia is launching HBO Max x Warnermedia Access Animated Shorts Program, a new mentorship and training program for “historically underrepresented talent” in primetime animation.

Here are details on the program:

• The program will select up to seven artists whose “style and voice push the boundaries of what’s possible in animation storytelling.” Participants will be provided with tools, instruction, and resources to create short films for adult audiences. Sources say that HBO Max will be putting up budgets of up to $60,000 for creators to complete their films.
• The program considers “historically underrepresented” creators as those who identify as Indigenous, Black, LatinX, Asian, MENA and other communities of color, people with disabilities and members of LGBTQ2+ communities. Applicants must be 18 or older.
• The theme of the initial program is “Only You.” During the six to nine-month program, launching January 2022, participants will explore various career pathways and learn the business of producing an animation project, with comprehensive production budget resources to develop an original one to five-minute animated short. Industry experts will conduct virtual Master Classes on production cycle topics, including script writing, storyboard and animatic, and character and location design. Selected creators will work independently on their projects and will have scheduled check-ins with a dedicated mentor and a seasoned producer who will guide participants through the entire process.
• Completed projects may stream exclusively on HBO Max.
• Says Aaron Davidson, director, comedy and animation, HBO Max: “So many of the world’s best animators got their start with an animated short. We’re proud to offer a space where creators that have yet to be discovered can nurture and share their ideas with the world while learning from and working with the very best storytellers the industry has to offer.”
• Submissions from international candidates will be accepted provided creators have the right to work in the U.S. or Canada.The Canadian component of the program will seek out Indigenous artists, selected through a collaboration between Imaginenative and Warnermedia Access Canada. Applicants must be a resident of Canada for the Canadian cohort only.
• Submissions are open through October 24. Only artists who have previously not had the opportunity to create an original work for a network or streamer are eligible. More details on how to apply can be found HERE.