New Producers Academy

What New Producers Academy does

New Producers Academy (NPA) is a Rotterdam-based non-profit fellowship organization, operating as an initiative of Stichting Otredad, that trains emerging film producers from underrepresented communities in the Dutch audiovisual industry. Founded in 2021, NPA runs an 18-month fellowship programme and has expanded to four distinct programmes: the core NPA Fellowship, NPA+ (a feature-film transition programme launched in 2024), Animate Reality (an animation-focused producer training in partnership with Playgrounds), and New Producers Curaçao (a Caribbean extension launching in 2026). Since 2021, the organization has supported 17 producers across four cohorts, drawn from backgrounds historically excluded from the Dutch film production pipeline.

The organization operates with a small team of approximately 15 staff and three co-founders (Claudio Montesano Casillas, Loretta van der Horst, and Yassin Karmoudi). Its revenue model is grant-based, drawing on institutional funding from the Netherlands Film Fund, Netflix, VSBfonds, Gemeente Rotterdam, and CFAP, supplemented by awards such as the CFAP Best Audiovisual Project. NPA was explicitly named in the Netherlands Film Fund's 2025-2028 policy plan, securing eligibility for Filmfonds Shorts, NPO Fictiefilm Campus, and Caleidoscoop funding streams.

NPA's strategic positioning centres on building a self-reinforcing alumni ecosystem: graduates collaborate, co-found companies, and hire within the cohort, creating a pipeline of underrepresented producers into the Dutch and broader European audiovisual market. Its expansion strategy combines programme diversification (live-action, animation, feature-length, Caribbean) with ecosystem partnerships such as Scope/Talenthub Zuid-Holland and the Producer Campus Eindhoven with BROET.

Name

New Producers Academy

Legal name

Stichting Otredad

Website

https://newproducersacademy.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

New Producers Academy is a Rotterdam-based non-profit fellowship that trains emerging film producers from underrepresented communities in the Dutch audiovisual industry through multi-year cohorts and specialized programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Producer Training and Fellowship Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD), Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE)

Keywords

• Film producer fellowship
• Audiovisual training programs
• Emerging producer development
• Film industry mentorship
• Diversity in filmmaking

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Institutional Funding: NPA operates as an initiative of Stichting Otredad, a non-profit foundation. Revenue comes primarily from grants and institutional funding provided by Dutch film funds (Netherlands Film Fund), cultural foundations (VSBfonds), government bodies (Gemeente Rotterdam), and corporate sponsors (Netflix). The organization was officially named in the Netherlands Film Fund's 2025-2028 policy plan as one of two initiatives building an inclusive film industry.
2. Fellowship Programme Services: NPA provides an 18-month fellowship programme that offers emerging producers hands-on training, mentorship, industry access, and funding opportunities to produce their first short films. The programme is free for participants—NPA funds production budgets, provides mentorship time, and makes industry connections available to fellows.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

New Producers Academy runs multi-track fellowship programmes that train self-taught emerging film producers from underrepresented communities in the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean. Selected fellows receive an 18-month (or 12-month) structured curriculum including mentorship from established industry professionals, hands-on producing training, curated industry introductions, and direct production funding to make their first short film. The programmes are delivered free of charge to participants and are funded by Dutch film funds, cultural foundations, municipal government, and corporate sponsors.

Product overview

New Producers Academy (NPA) is an educational organization offering multiple interconnected programmes for emerging film producers. The core offerings include the NPA Fellowship (an 18-month programme for self-taught producers to produce their first short film), NPA+ (a year-long programme supporting the transition to feature filmmaking), New Producers Curaçao (a fellowship for Curaçaoan filmmakers, in development), and Animate Reality (a production programme for documentary/animation filmmakers, in development). Supporting offerings include NPA Sounds podcast and NPA Films (showcasing films produced by fellows). Together these programmes form a pathway from a first short film to a sustainable career in the audiovisual industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NPA Fellowship An 18-month fellowship programme for self-taught producers from underrepresented communities in the Netherlands to build a sustainable career in the audiovisual industry and produce their first short film through mentorship, hands-on training, industry introductions, and production funding.
• NPA+ A one-year intensive programme for NPA fellowship graduates that helps producers make the leap from short films to feature filmmaking through coaching, skills training, and mentorship focused on creative, strategic, and leadership skills.
• Animate Reality A hands-on production programme, built in partnership with Playgrounds, for Dutch filmmakers working at the intersection of documentary and animation, training animation producers to carry animated stories from concept to screen with five teams developing non-fiction animation projects from idea to pitch.
• New Producers Curaçao A fellowship programme developed for emerging Curaçaoan filmmakers ready to make their debut short film with local crew, international ambition, and full support, delivered in close collaboration with Instituto Buena Bista (IBB) and led on the ground by Elizabeth Francisco.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17 producers supported across four programmes since 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BROETcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBROET is a Dutch film organization. NPA collaborated with BROET to organize Producer Campus Eindhoven, a three-day programme exploring the many sides of producing with workshops and networking.
• PlaygroundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaygrounds is a Dutch animation and digital design organization. NPA and Playgrounds are collaborating to build Animate Reality—a hands-on production programme for Dutch filmmakers working at the intersection of documentary and animation.
• Scope / Talenthub Zuid-HollandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPA is a founding partner of Scope, Talenthub Zuid-Holland—the film talent network for the whole of Zuid-Holland province. This establishes NPA as a core component of the regional film talent ecosystem.
• NPO (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPO is the Dutch Public Broadcaster. NPA collaborates with NPO on storytelling (e.g., Morris Maturbongs and Yassin Karmoudi hosted storytelling evening with NPO). NPO Fictiefilm Campus is one of the programmes fellowship graduates become eligible for upon completion.
• Instituto Buena Bista (IBB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBB is a Curaçaoan cultural institution with deep roots in Curaçaoan creative culture. NPA developed New Producers Curaçao in close collaboration with IBB, which makes the fellowship possible on the island. Elizabeth Francisco leads NPC on the ground in Curaçao.
• NatlabminorOthersNatlab is a venue in Eindhoven. Producer Campus Eindhoven was held at Natlab, where participants explored the many sides of producing over three days of workshops and networking.
• SUB3minorOthersSUB3 is a Dutch creative organization listed as a supporter of NPA. The nature of the specific collaboration is not detailed in available sources.
• NOVA LabminorOthersNOVA Lab provided rebranding services for NPA's programme, helping bring a fresh new look to the organization's visual identity and communications.
• The WavescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Waves is a production company co-founded by NPA founders Claudio Montesano Casillas (Head of Production) and Loretta van der Horst. Elisa Nanhekhan interned at The Waves before joining NPA. The Waves produces author-driven fiction and documentary, and Claudio and Loretta's roles at The Waves inform and support NPA's work.
• Eye FilmmuseumminorOthersEye Filmmuseum highlighted Chesney Giersthove (NPA+ participant) in their article 'Gaze into the future' as one of the creators renewing the film industry with an entrepreneurial and independent perspective.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ACE Producers: ACE Producers is an exclusive training and networking programme for established and emerging European film producers, running workshops, an annual ACE Sessions, and a structured producer fellowship. Like NPA, ACE focuses on producers as the primary beneficiary and combines cohort training with industry-market access.
• Binger Filmlab: Binger Filmlab is a Dutch film training laboratory in Amsterdam that supports screenwriters, directors, and producers across narrative and documentary projects. As a domestic Dutch comparator, it shares NPA's target audience of emerging Dutch film professionals and offers a useful lens on how a more established Dutch film lab operates.
• TorinoFilmLab: TorinoFilmLab is an international film lab supporting emerging talents (writers, directors, producers) through structured programmes that combine training, mentorship, and project development. Its fellowship-style model for producers mirrors NPA's combination of cohort training, mentoring, and industry access.
• EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs): EAVE is one of Europe's leading training and development programmes for film producers, running professional workshops, online sessions, and a year-long fellowship for emerging producers. It is the most directly comparable organization to NPA in mission, structure, and target audience, operating at a broader European scale.
• Berlinale Talents: Berlinale Talents is the Berlin International Film Festival's talent development programme, bringing together 200 selected creatives (including producers) for workshops, mentorship, and networking. It is a direct analogue to NPA's industry-festival-anchored model for emerging film talent.
• Sources2: Sources2 is an international training and mentoring programme for documentary producers and filmmakers, focused on development, financing, and distribution of documentary projects. Comparable to NPA in delivering structured producer training with international cohort dynamics.
• Producers Network (Marché du Film): Producers Network is a networking and training programme that runs alongside the Marché du Film at Cannes, focused exclusively on producers and their projects. It mirrors NPA's mission of giving producers industry access and structured development opportunities, though at a larger, market-anchored scale.
• IFFR Rotterdam Lab: IFFR Rotterdam Lab is an international co-production market and talent development programme attached to the International Film Festival Rotterdam. NPA explicitly sends one fellow per year to this programme, and it serves as a closely related producer-training and talent-spotting platform in the same Rotterdam ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Ghetto Film School: Ghetto Film School is an international nonprofit that trains young filmmakers from underrepresented communities through fellowships, mentorship, and an industry network. Like NPA, it focuses on access and inclusion in the film industry, but targets a younger cohort and operates from a US base.
• Brown Girls Doc Mafia: Brown Girls Doc Mafia is a global community of women and non-binary people of color working in documentary filmmaking, providing networking, mentorship, and visibility. NPA founders explicitly tap into this network for talent referral, making it a closely aligned but community- rather than programme-led peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newproducersacademy
• Instagraminstagram.com/newproducersacademy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New Producers Academy