The world is a quite different place than it was just a few months ago. Social distancing has halted not only our lives but also the way we create content. But what if we looked at this time as an opportunity to stretch our creativity and challenge ourselves to create within the boundaries of this new reality?

That is what THE SIX FEE APART EXPERIMENT is here to encourage, testing its participants’ imagination, storytelling ability, and character development as they create and submit radically sincere content that celebrates the human spirit in the age of COVID-19.

“We need to inject joy, hopefulness, and positivity amid this uncertain period of sadness and anxiety,” says Labid Aziz (COO/CFO of Wayfarer Studios.)

The Six Feet Apart experiment is inspired by Wayfarer Studios and Entertainment co-chairman Justin Baldoni‘s experience making last summer’s breakout hit “5 Feet Apart”, which explores a blooming relationship between two teens who must keep a distance due to an illness. Mid-lockdown, D’Angela Proctor had a desire to create a micro-budget Covid-based independent film, which spurred Baldoni’s idea to turn that film into a national competition to further the Wayfarer family’s mission to provide people with opportunities and trying to unite through art and heal through actions.

I spoke with Labid Aziz and D’Angela Proctor, (CEO of Wayfarer Entertainment) to get a better sense of what they are looking for in the submissions.

Writers can submit a full screenplay or a treatment, accompanied by a visual proof of concept that would demonstrate the writer’s vision for the project. “We want people in various stages of where they are creatively to still be able to apply,” says Proctor.

“The social impact statement and the production plan are equally as important as the screenplay or treatment itself,” Proctor continues. “Ask yourself – are you elevating anyone’s story? Are you helping anyone? Are you making the world a better place? Most importantly – why are you telling this story?”

“We ask for the production plan because we want to make sure that people are aware of the world we’re living in now, with hopes that their creative thought process can lead to innovations that Hollywood can adopt,” says Aziz. “We want this experiment to drive innovation. We believe some of the issues around shooting content today can be solved by young filmmakers,” adds Proctor.

Don’t worry if you don’t have experience building a production plan, you are not required to prepare a budget or a schedule. The production plan can be as small or as large and detailed as you make it. It’s really about being thoughtful about how you plan to shoot it while keeping the Covid guidelines in mind, so feel free to be as creative as possible.

Five filmmakers will enter the experiment, which includes professional mentorship from seasoned filmmakers, and an opportunity to have their project greenlit for $50,000 in financing and post-production.

“We want to be known as the folks who take risks. We will give these filmmakers the personnel, the resources, and the tools to create the best version of their film,” says Aziz. “We are excited to afford this opportunity to people who are underrepresented, underserved, or under-resourced,” Proctor adds.

The deadline for submission is June 5th. It is open to individual writers and writing teams and is open to any genre. There is no cost to submit, and the winners will be announced on June 22nd.

Visit www.sixfeetapartexperiment.com/ for more information and guidelines.

Good luck and get writing!