The Disney Launchpad Program is Looking for Writers and Directors for Season 2!

The Disney Launchpad Shorts Incubator is returning for Season II with exciting new changes!

Calling all writers and directors 📣 Season Two submissions for Disney’s @LaunchpadShorts program are now open. Apply at https://t.co/1aAp7etQrW. pic.twitter.com/n0xMjQFj37

— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) May 10, 2021

Writers for the first time ever will be eligible to apply for the program as well as directors! You can apply as a writer, writer/director, a director with a script someone else wrote (so as a team), or as a director, but you can only apply once in either of these categories.

The Disney Launchpad explains, “as we narratively focus on the theme of ‘Connection,’ a timely idea with unlimited interpretations, we will continue our mission to empower filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds with diverse perspectives, expose them to the studio system, and deliver up to six (6) original, live-action shorts for proposed initial exhibition on Disney+.”

According to the Disney Launchpad website it will include the following:

• Four (4) months of script development and professional development classes, specifically designed to strengthen your professional and storytelling skills.
• Bringing the robust curriculum of the American Film Institute (“AFI”) to the Launchpad, classes for the writers and directors will be led primarily by our educational partner, AFI, and held once or twice per week on the Disney studio lot in Burbank, California from 6:30pm – 10pm PT, with one (1) Saturday field trip to the AFI campus in Los Angeles (Please note that depending on the state of the pandemic, classes may be conducted remotely for safety reasons).
• A staggered production schedule, which will include: up to eight (8) weeks of pre-production, ten (10) to twelve (12) weeks of principal photography (staggered schedule for all six (6) projects), and up to ten (10) weeks of post-production.

If you are interested in applying, applications are open now and close on June 11. The program starts December of 2021.

Click here to apply or for more information!