Sundance Collab and TikTok Launch Global Micro-Series Challenge With $5,000 Grants

Five creators will receive $5,000 each, professional development through Sundance Collab and an opportunity to pitch their micro-series directly to TikTok. Applications close 9 September 2026.

Sundance Collab and TikTok have launched a new international challenge for filmmakers and writers developing short-form vertical series, with five finalists set to receive $5,000 each to advance their projects.

The Sundance Collab x TikTok Micro-Series Challenge opened on 19 August 2026 and is accepting applications through 9 September at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

An industry jury will select five finalists. Each will receive a $5,000 unrestricted grant, a Sundance Collab course package and access to an online workshop with a Sundance Collab advisor before pitching their project directly to the TikTok team.

For filmmakers increasingly experimenting with vertical and mobile-first storytelling, the programme represents a notable crossover between Sundance Institute’s artist-development ecosystem and one of the world’s largest short-form video platforms.

What is a micro-series?

Micro-series are serialised stories told through very short episodes designed primarily for mobile viewing.

In its filmmaking resources around the format, Sundance Collab describes contemporary micro-series as story- and character-driven productions whose episodes typically run around 60 to 120 seconds, while still building longer narrative arcs across multiple instalments.

The challenge is therefore not asking filmmakers to submit a conventional standalone short film.

Instead, applicants must develop an episodic concept capable of sustaining a much larger series of short-form episodes.

What do filmmakers need to submit?

Applicants need to prepare a substantial development package rather than simply pitching an idea in a paragraph.

The required materials include:

• Title
• Genre
• A one-sentence logline
• Character biographies for two to four main characters, up to 500 words
• A synopsis covering the complete series arc, up to 500 words
• Scripts for the first 30 episodes, with a maximum combined length of 45 screenplay pages
• A one-to-three-page series bible

All application materials must be in English.

The requirement to provide scripts for 30 episodes makes this considerably more demanding than a conventional short-form pitch. Filmmakers interested in applying should therefore account for the development work required before the September deadline.

Five finalists receive $5,000 each

The challenge will select five finalists, providing a total of $25,000 in unrestricted grants.

Each finalist receives:

$5,000 unrestricted grant
Sundance Collab course package
Online pitch-development workshop
Direct online pitch to the TikTok team

Finalists are scheduled to be notified on 30 October 2026.

An online pitch workshop follows on 3 November, with the five finalists scheduled to make their presentations to TikTok on 6 November 2026.

The $5,000 award is shared if a project is submitted by a two-person creative team rather than being paid separately to each member.

International creators can apply

The programme is described by Sundance Collab as a global community challenge.

Applicants must be 18 or older, and individuals can submit only one entry.

Co-writers or co-creators may apply together, but teams are limited to two people.

All submitted material must have been created by the applicant or applicants.

That international scope makes the opportunity particularly relevant to filmmakers outside the United States who are interested in moving from conventional short films into emerging mobile-native storytelling formats.

Generative AI cannot be used in the application

Sundance Collab has also established a clear rule around artificial intelligence.

Applicants may not use generative AI to create, develop or revise any part of their submission.

That restriction covers the submitted development materials rather than simply the eventual finished videos.

Applicants using generative tools elsewhere in their filmmaking workflow should therefore pay particular attention to this rule while developing their concept, scripts and series bible.

TikTok gets a first-look opportunity

There is another important condition filmmakers should understand before entering.

By submitting to the challenge, applicants give TikTok a first-look opportunity for their series concept.

According to Sundance Collab’s official challenge rules, TikTok receives a 21-day period beginning when the applicant is notified of their application status in which it can decide whether it wants to extend an offer connected to the series idea.

The wording does not mean TikTok automatically acquires the project simply because someone enters. It does, however, create a specific first-look arrangement, so filmmakers should read the complete challenge terms before submitting commercially sensitive projects.

Sundance and TikTok have been developing the format together

The challenge follows an earlier collaboration between TikTok and Sundance Collab around micro-series storytelling.

In June, the two organisations launched From Script to Screens: Writing Your Micro-Series, a free four-week online programme designed to teach filmmakers and writers how to develop serialised short-form stories for digital audiences.

That course concluded on 18 August, one day before applications opened for the new challenge.

Sundance Collab has also been actively introducing traditional filmmakers to the format through industry sessions examining the production of successful vertical series.

One example is Screen Time, produced by HOORAE Digital and distributed through TikTok and PineDrama. Sundance Collab says the series reached 75 million views during its first week.

The new challenge therefore appears within a broader effort by Sundance Collab and TikTok to develop micro-series as a distinct storytelling format rather than treating vertical video solely as promotional or social-media content.

Deadline: 9 September 2026

The key dates are:

Applications opened: 19 August 2026
Application deadline: 9 September 2026 at 11:59pm PT
Finalists notified: 30 October 2026
Online pitch workshop: 3 November 2026
Pitch event with TikTok: 6 November 2026

With approximately three weeks available, filmmakers interested in applying still have useful preparation time, although writing the first 30 episodes and assembling a complete series bible will require considerably more work than a simple concept submission.

For independent short filmmakers, the opportunity may be particularly relevant to those interested in exploring how their directing or screenwriting skills translate into serialised vertical storytelling.

The $5,000 grant is meaningful, but the more unusual component is the combination of Sundance Collab development support and direct access to TikTok’s team.

Applicants should review the official challenge page carefully — particularly the generative-AI prohibition and TikTok first-look provision — before submitting their project.