Hot Docs Podcast Development Lab

• 2021 Projects
  The program’s first year was co-facilitated by Aliya Pabani and Stephanie McArthur and featured Hannah Sung, Pacinthe Mattar, Dan Misener, Neena Pathak, and Megan Tan as mentors.
  
  20 Red Flags: Gold and Lies in the Jungle
  Creator: Nicole Doucette and Lucas Kavanagh
  A small Canadian company convinced everyone they found the world’s biggest gold mine: but a man jumped out of a helicopter, and everything fell apart.
  
  Exceptionalisn’t
  Creator: Melissa Haughton
  A journey into why averageness should be the new Black excellence. How we redefine ideas of who is allowed to fail, and why doing half as much can be twice as good.
  
  Camp Canadiana (formerly Made Up Words)
  Creator: Isabelle Ruiz De La Orden
  Camp Canadiana invites you into the complex world of Canadian summer camps. As camps work to reconcile their complicated histories, the story of summer camps in Canada will be retold, re-examined, and offered anew.
  
  Money No Get Enemy
  Creator: Oshamimi Mayaki and Alexandra Sproule
  From the middle ages, caravans crossed the desert and ships crossed the seas bringing money, lots of it, to exchange for West Africa’s riches. This is the story of that money, in all its forms, and what happened to all that wealth. These stories will transform your understanding of where money comes from and how it works.
  
  S is for Seva (formerly Stories My Grandma Never Told Me)
  Creator: Serena Parmer
  We used to go to our parents with questions about all the “cultural stuff”. Now we’re the parents! A new mom’s search for the hyphenated history of Sikh-Canadians, one of the earliest racialized communities in Canada. How do we pass history forward?
• Application

  Podcast Development Lab fellows will be selected via an open application process. Applicants to the program must:

  • Be of at least one of the following priority groups: Black, Indigenous, a person of colour
  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
  • An emerging or sophomore storyteller (please see below for more information)
  • NOT be currently enrolled as a full-time student
  • Be able to participate in a bi-weekly virtual lab taking place on Wednesday evenings 5:00pm – 6:30pm (EST) between July and September 2021
  • Have a non-fiction limited podcast series idea in early development. Please see Project section below for more information.
• Eligibility

  Successful applicants will have a new non-fiction podcast series idea in early development. The podcast ideas may not have been previously released.

  Projects should be limited series or podcasts with a limited number of first season episodes. Episodes should be connected via narrative trajectory or through the social themes or subject matter that they explore, with each episode contributing to and building on a greater narrative arc or exploration of the subject matter.

  Fiction podcasts, chat podcasts, companion podcasts, and news/current affairs podcasts are not accepted.

  During the program fellows will work on further developing their projects, creating pitch packages and/or dissemination plans, and will work towards creating either a pilot episode or a proof-of-concept sample that can be used to further pitch their projects.

  Eligible applicants will be emerging or sophomore storytellers, with a demonstrated interest in podcasting. Applicants may have previously created independent podcasts or may have worked on podcasts that have been released on a major podcasting network, however eligible applicants may not have helmed or created a podcast that has been released on a major podcasting network (CBC, Canadaland, Gimlet, Radiotopia, Frequency, etc.).

  Applicants should be ready to launch or already working on building their careers. Applicants should not be currently enrolled as full-time students.

  Applicants who are new to podcasting and have been working in other storytelling mediums are also eligible for the program but experience with a linear editing Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that edits non-destructively (ProTools, Adobe Audition, Reaper, Logic) is highly recommended.

  Hot Docs recognizes that podcasting is a collaborative art form and will consider admitting up to two podcast creators to the lab for each selected project. In this case, the primary applicant must meet all listed eligibility requirements, and they should be the one to complete the application form. Please indicate in the application form if you have a co-creator who should join you in the lab. In cases where two creators are admitted to the lab only one creator’s grant of $1,000 will be issued per project. Admission of a second creator will be a Hot Docs’ discretion.

• Program Benefits
  Program benefits include:

  • Enrollment in the Hot Docs Podcast Development Lab
  • Complimentary accreditation to Hot Docs Podcast Festival
  • Private intensive creative development story sessions, career planning, and skill development sessions encompassing topics such as story structure, pitching, promotion and distribution
  • One-on-one sessions with lab mentors for directed project feedback and career advice
  • $1,000 creator grant (per project) to support the development of the project
• Lab & Mentorship

  Fellows will participate in a private online lab taking place from July through September 2021. During the lab, fellows will hear from a variety of industry experts and will engage in in-depth workshops.

  Please note that the lab is held in English, applicants should be comfortably fluent in English in order to participate. The lab sessions and private meetings with mentors will take place virtually using video conferencing technologies.

  Fellows will also virtually meet one-on-one with lab mentors to receive specific feedback on their projects and work towards their learning and production goals.

  This fellowship program will focus on story development, pitching, navigating the podcast industry, marketing and dissemination. The program will not focus on technical training (editing, recording, mixing, mastering, sound design, etc)

  Mentors will include seasoned audio creators and industry veterans, and efforts will be made to ensure that they are reflective of the priority groups this program is intended to serve.

• Selection Process

  A jury composed of industry professionals and one Hot Docs representative will review all submitted proposals.

  Applications will be considered based on the quality of the proposed project, the applicant’s passion, initiative, experience and promise, and the ability of the program to assist with advancing their goals for their project.

• Accessibility Support
  Hot Docs will work with selected applicants to ensure they are able to fully participate in the program. Resources such as personal support workers or ASL interpreters can be available as needed on an individual basis.
  
  Hot Docs is considerate of technological, social and accessibility barriers to the application process. Accommodations that can be provided to support applicants may include an oral or video submission component. Applicants who require assistance are encouraged to request accommodation at least two weeks before the deadline by contacting [email protected].

About Program Partners

Hot Docs is committed to nurturing, developing, and showcasing new and diverse voices. We believe in storytelling in all its forms as a means to greater empathy and understanding; and we aim to dismantle systemic barriers to allow equal access for everyone to tell their stories and have those stories heard.

The Inspirit Foundation funds media and arts for social change, supports young content creators, and invests its assets to align with its mission to promote inclusion and pluralism in Canada – specifically addressing discrimination based on ethnicity, race, or religion.

Amazon Music reimagines music listening by enabling customers to unlock millions of songs and thousands of curated playlists and stations with their voice. Amazon Music provides unlimited access to new releases and classic hits across iOS and Android mobile devices, PC, Mac, Echo, and Alexa-enabled devices including Fire TV and more. With Amazon Music, Prime members have access to ad-free listening of 2 million songs at no additional cost to their membership. Listeners can also enjoy the premium subscription service, Amazon Music Unlimited, which provides access to millions of songs and the latest new releases. Amazon Music Unlimited customers also now have access to the highest-quality listening experience available, with millions of songs in High Definition (HD), more than 7 million songs in Ultra HD, and a growing catalog of spatial audio. Customers also have free access to an ad-supported selection of top playlists and stations on Amazon Music. All Amazon Music tiers now offer a wide selection of podcasts at no additional cost, and live streaming in partnership with Twitch. Engaging with music and culture has never been more natural, simple, and fun. 

Questions? Contact [email protected]