AT&T
Untold Stories
Untold Stories is a multi-year, multi-tier alliance between AT&T and Tribeca Festival that awards $1 million dollars, mentorship, and comprehensive support to underrepresented filmmakers to produce their films.
The Untold Stories pitch event is live-streamed to millions from the Tribeca Festival.
Submissions
The program begins with an open call for submissions. Untold Stories works toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world by promoting authentic stories by filmmakers who are not adequately represented in the entertainment industry. This includes directors who are women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, with disabilities and beyond. Our team reviews hundreds of submissions to find five excellent finalist films.
We created a filmmaker-forward sizzle to drive submissions:
Filmmaker Profiles
To drum up excitement for the live-stream, we created dynamic profiles of the five finalists. We used these assets to encourage tune-in to the livestream, and share more about our filmmakers with audiences.
The 2022 filmmakers:
Live-Streamed Pitch Event
At the 2022 Tribeca Festival, the five talented and diverse filmmaking teams pitched their original feature scripted projects to an esteemed Greenlight Committee of industry professionals to decide who would become the next $1 million dollar prize recipient.
The livestream, to date, has over 3 Million views.
76% of those who watched the livestream enjoyed it (above the AT&T wide portfolio average)
The livestream had a 3000% viewership increase from the previous year
The winning pitch was SMOKING TIGERS (by So Young Shelly Yo). They are guaranteed a premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival and a first look with HBOMax.
Live-stream audiences had the opportunity to have their voice heard by voting for their Fan Favorite. The winner, UNDER THE LIGHTS, received an additional $40,000 in project support.
Fan Favorite
Program Legacy
• $5 Million given to winning underrepresented filmmakers
• $200,000 in development funding to participants
• $80,000 in “fan favorite” awards to films chosen by live-stream viewers
• 5 completed and distributed feature length films from new voices
Of all pitching films since the beginning of the program, over 40% were completed. This is largely based on the elevated platform the live-stream provided and the connections it fostered.
This unique partnership has already made a major impact on inclusivity in film. Following its first three nationally-distributed films, Nigerian Prince, Lucky Grandma and Marvelous and the Black Hole, the 2021 winner Land of Gold is currently screening on the festival circuit. Untold Stories’ next feature Smoking Tigers will premiere in 2023.