An African filmmaker with a finished short, a photographer with a strong series or a writer with a promising script can now consider a new training route backed by Akuna and Google. Applications for From Script to Screen with AI opened on 26 October 2026 and are scheduled to close on 15 November 2026.
The opportunity is open to residents of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Akuna’s official programme calendar gives 14 December 2026 for offers and onboarding, followed by an academy start on 25 January 2027. Those dates give prospective applicants a fairly short preparation window and a longer period in which to plan their participation.
This is a training-and-development programme with a competitive route to film funding. A place in the academy is not a promise that an applicant’s project will be financed. Understanding the different stages is the first step towards deciding whether the opportunity fits a creator’s plans.
Start with the eligibility, then choose the work
The application guidance requires applicants to be at least 18, physically resident in one of the five participating countries, and able to access a laptop, reliable internet and consistent power. It also asks for availability from 25 January 2027.
The submission includes a professional profile or CV, identification, a preferred creative pathway, one example of work, a statement of up to 250 words and an introduction video lasting 60 to 90 seconds. Moving-image samples can run up to three minutes. Prior AI experience is not required.
The immediate editorial task is choosing a sample that gives a reviewer a clear view of your contribution. The biggest production is not automatically the most informative one. A short scene with a strong sense of character may say more about a director than a glossy montage whose individual responsibilities are hard to identify.
A writer could select a passage that establishes a character’s objective and an obstacle. A photographer could choose a coherent sequence rather than a collection of unrelated favourites. An editor could identify the passage they cut and explain the problem they were solving. These are preparation suggestions, not unpublished selection criteria or a formula for admission.
Where work was collaborative, a short credit note can make the application more honest and more useful. “I directed and edited this scene; another collaborator wrote it” tells the panel what it is actually evaluating. It also gives the applicant a precise starting point for discussing what they want to learn next.
The programme has several gates
Akuna’s programme overview describes a shared foundation followed by specialisation. It lists fiction, documentary, animation, advertising and screenwriting. Although one heading on the site refers to four pathways, the actual list and application page name five; applicants should use the current application form when selecting their preference.
The official FAQ says applicants enter as individuals. Graduates can subsequently propose ideas, shortlisted ideas lead to teams, and selected teams progress through mentorship and pitching. The site explicitly says that not every graduate will join a team and only a limited selection of projects will receive funding.
That structure changes how an applicant should assess the opportunity. Someone seeking training may find value in the academy even if a production does not follow. Someone who can participate only if a specific film is guaranteed funding is facing a different decision. The important comparison is between the confirmed learning opportunity and the time it requires, rather than between an application and an imagined production budget.
There is also a practical difference between being a strong individual applicant and becoming a useful collaborator. During an academy, the editor who understands story, the writer who can revise for production and the director who can explain a decision may all become valuable to a team. Choosing a pathway need not mean ignoring the other crafts.
Build a statement around a real creative problem
The personal statement is short enough that a clear example can do more work than a list of ambitions. Consider an applicant interested in a film about a family-owned workshop. The useful starting point is not “AI will transform African storytelling”. It is the particular creative problem: how to communicate a changing relationship between two characters, how to plan a difficult sequence, or how to develop a visual approach before filming begins.
From there, the applicant can explain what they already know and what they hope the academy will help them test. An aspiring documentary maker may want a better process for organising research and planning interviews. An animator may want to explore the relationship between a written scene and a consistent visual world. These are possible learning questions; they are not claims about specific tools promised by the programme.
A strong statement also keeps the audience in sight. Who should understand or feel something after watching? Why is film the useful form for this idea? What makes the applicant well placed to develop it? Answers grounded in a real creative interest are easier to assess than broad claims to speak for an entire continent.
The introduction video offers a second chance to make that interest clear. It need not repeat the CV sentence by sentence. A simple introduction, a concise account of the story and one reason for pursuing it can establish a coherent conversation with the written application. Preparing the idea aloud before recording can help reveal which parts are still vague.
Put the full calendar beside your existing commitments
The FAQ places the twelve-week academy between 25 January and 18 April 2027, with later development and pitching stages extending beyond that period for those who progress. A 27 October report by tech.africa notes a discrepancy: the launch release describes the academy as running from February to April, while the website gives the January start.
For planning purposes, the dated programme calendar is the more specific reference. Applicants should confirm their required live-session availability during onboarding. The site’s animated application countdown displayed zeros during this research, so the written 15 November deadline is a better guide than that counter.
Before applying, place the academy period alongside paid work, study, family responsibilities and any existing production. “Free” removes application fees and tuition, according to Akuna; it does not create extra hours in a week. A realistic plan for access to a working laptop and an internet connection is part of deciding whether participation is feasible.
Ownership deserves a practical conversation
Akuna says creators retain intellectual property in their work. Its FAQ also says funded projects will have an agreement before money moves and that mentorship includes an IP clinic. The precise agreement, including any distribution arrangement, will therefore matter at the funding stage.
For now, a useful habit is to maintain clear records of collaborators, source material and the rights attached to an existing sample. That makes the work easier to explain whether it enters this academy, a festival or another development programme.
The opportunity’s appeal is concrete: structured learning, potential collaborators and a route through which some projects can reach production. Applicants have until the published 15 November 2026 deadline to show what they already make—and to articulate the specific creative step they want to take next.
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