Wildseed relaunches submissions portal

Sky Kids’ animated comedy series Dodo

Bristol-based kids and family indie Wildseed Studios is relaunching its submissions portal, through which emerging creators are in with a chance of securing up to £10,000 (US$13,900) each to develop their own projects.

Jesse Cleverly

Wildseed, which was set up in 2013 by ex-BBC exec Jesse Cleverly and former Aardman exec Miles Bullough, aims to use the “no barrier to entry” portal to find and mentor the next wave of creative talent.

Creators are invited to submit a scripted project in live-action or animation, and successful candidates will receive the funds to develop and pilot their ideas before pitching to global platforms.

Wildseed initially launched a submissions portal when the company was formed eight years ago, which led to the creation of 40 pilot films and a host of commissions, including upcoming Netflix live-action original The Last Bus, Sky Kids’ animated comedy series Dodo, Disney animated comedy series Counterfeit Cat and adult animation Tales of the Serengeti for BBC3.

Through the portal’s relaunch, Wildseed hopes to find projects from new talent with “a youthful perspective,” aimed at audiences aged anywhere between six and 30. It is particularly keen on character-led genre ideas with a sense of humour.

Applicants aren’t required to have any prior experience or agent representation and can submit their ideas in a variety of forms, including character designs, videos, graphic novels and manuscripts. Projects don’t need to have a written script to be considered.

Miles Bullough

Creative director Cleverly said: “Success in the content business is, now more than ever, driven by passion projects from unique voices and, as we know from joyful experience, when we find raw talent and mentor their creative vision, we find the next generation of hits.

“We are also very aware that the industry has so far failed to enable the full spectrum of creative talent, which is why we are especially focussed on those voices who have not felt represented in the industry to date. Our submissions portal is a level playing field open to all creators and we will be especially focused on delivering this opportunity to creative talent who have not felt that the normal routes into the industry are as open to them.”

Bullough, MD of Wildseed, added: “Wildseed’s mission is about finding and mentoring the most exciting new talent in scripted entertainment. We pioneered this approach to talent development because we wanted to find fresh ideas from people who would not necessarily get access through the standard routes. We use our industry experience and know-how to identify and nurture new creative talent towards commissions for mainstream platforms and, judging by the results to date, we know it works.”