Palmtrees was founded as a screenplay development incubator and story‑development studio by Funa Maduka, a Nigerian filmmaker and former head of International Original Films at Netflix.
By Adedamola Jones Adedayo
Palmtrees, a screenplay incubator for writers from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania, has entered into a development partnership with NEON, an American independent film production and distribution company.
The inaugural cohort will include eight to ten writers from the regions mentioned, who will participate in an intensive development cycle designed to produce scripts ready for greenlight discussions.
Applications for the programme are open from 31st March to 1st June 2026. Writers from eligible regions are required to submit a treatment and the first fifteen pages of a feature-length genre screenplay. The programme will run for nine months: eight months of remote development with seasoned story analysts, structured curriculum sessions and milestone-based deliverables, followed by a three-week in-person retreat to guide participants toward completing their final drafts.
Palmtrees was founded as a screenplay development incubator and story‑development studio by Funa Maduka, a Nigerian-American filmmaker and former head of International Original Films at Netflix. Maduka is also credited as the writer, producer and director of Waiting for Hassana (2017), a short documentary about the 2014 Chibok girls abductions told from a victim’s perspective, and the first Nigerian production ever selected to debut at Sundance Film Festival.
Maduka’s latest initiative, Palmtrees, arises from the vision to connect with and project compelling narratives and filmmakers based in regions that have historically suffered from the unavailability of infrastructure to develop at the intensity required by the competitive global content market. Its partnership with NEON strengthens this resolve, with the distribution giant expected to provide a first-look window on every project that completes the programme.
For NEON, this partnership adds to a growing portfolio of international cinema initiatives that includes Parasite (2019) and Anatomy of a Fall (2023) from South Korea and France, respectively. Earlier this year, the company registered interest in African storytelling, securing global distribution rights to Clarissa, a feature film reimagining Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, directed by Nigerian brothers and filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri.
This year has seen the emergence of a unique set of Africa-focused or inclusive film development initiatives, including S16 Film Labs, the Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF), and Baxu Maam Incubator, reflecting a growing recognition of the continent’s storytelling strength and creative talent. The launch of Palmtrees further reinforces this trend, positioning African writers alongside peers from other regions and providing them with opportunities for international exposure, collaboration, and market access.
Applications for Palmtrees can be submitted here.