*Looking For Louis has now closed for submissions. Keep an eye out for announcements of the winners!*
TriForce Creative Network have joined forces with Louis Theroux’s company Mindhouse, Amazon Studios and The TV Foundation (the charity arm of the Edinburgh TV Festival) to launch ‘Looking for Louis’. Building on the success of our previous WriterSlam partnerships with Amazon, this time we’re looking for budding journalists and documentary makers who think they could be the next Louis Theroux.
What are we looking for?
We’re looking for exciting micro-documentary ideas, with the filmmaker front and centre as the on screen talent. This should be an idea you can present in a 2 minute short film, filmed on your mobile phone. It should be a film you can easily shoot, without having to get access to somewhere difficult or requiring special equipment as if you’re selected as one of the 10 shortlisted entries, you’ll need to make it yourself in a week! You can shoot it yourself or enlist a friend to help you.
Whether your idea is about telling a story we’ve never seen on TV before, or whether it’s simply a universal story told by a different voice, we want to hear from you. We’re looking for talent who represent the society that we live in, and who will offer different perspectives, experiences and opinions.
You might have never worked in TV before but spend all your spare time making YouTube and TikTok content, or you might be a budding broadcast journalist looking for an opportunity to present your own documentary, or just someone with a great idea who’s confident in front of a camera! If you live in the UK, and you’ve got a great idea for a 2 minute documentary, we want to hear it.
What do I need to submit?
We try to keep entry requirements as accessible as possible, so all you need to submit is:
- A one page written pitch of your 2 minute documentary idea. Your pitch should include:
- A bit about yourself and why you think you’d be a good on screen journalist
- Tell us about your idea for a 2 minute documentary filmed on your mobile phone
- Explain how you would be able to shoot the film yourself in just a week
- A CV – please don’t worry too much about this requirement, we’d just like to know if you’ve made anything before whether that’s for online content, adverts, music videos, TV or radio. If you don’t have a formal CV, just make a list of any content you’ve created with links to it online where possible and upload that.
When do I need to submit?
Submission are open from midday on midday Mon 12 July – 11:59pm Tues 27 July.
Are there any restrictions?
We’re looking for the next Louis Theroux, so you must want to present your documentary yourself! Other than that, the only restriction is that you must be based in the UK.
What’s the process?
- All submissions will be read
- Up to 50 submissions will be shortlisted by the TCN
- An expert panel will read the shortlist and select 10 filmmakers to go through to the next stage
- The 10 filmmakers will be asked to create their 2 minute documentary on their mobile phones and submit this by 14 August. They will have one week to shoot their film.
- Louis Theroux will view the 10 films and select 6 finalists to take part in the Ed TV Fest online session on 26 August
- The live event will take place online as part of Edinburgh TV Festival Fest on 26 August, with Louis Theroux, the team from Mindhouse and Fozia Khan from Amazon on the panel. All 6 films will be shown and the winner will be announced, who will be interviewed via Zoom as part of the session.
What dates do I need to be available?
10 filmmakers will be asked to create their 2 minute documentary on their mobile phones between Fri 06 August and Sat 14 August. Our 6 finalists will be asked to virtually attend the Ed TV Fest session on 26 August. This will be done via Zoom, so there will be no need to travel to Edinburgh.
What is the prize?
The winner will be selected by Louis Theroux and Mindhouse to win a six-month, exclusive option with Mindhouse. They will work together with Mindhouse’s creative team to develop projects and pitch them to commissioners with the aim of winning commissions in that time that will be executive produced by Mindhouse and authored or presented by the talent.
Amazon Studios will offer the winner a bespoke 12 month programme of mentoring and training to help them achieve their career goals.