Kickstart with Canva is a partnership between Canva and Tribeca to empower emerging creators across entertainment. The program provides training for creators to showcase and create buzz around their work via Canva's all-in-one visual communication platform through in-depth training workshops. Select projects receive additional funding and development to meaningfully advance their projects through kickstart award funding.
Combining Canva’s visual communication platform and Tribeca’s expertise in professional and artistic development, the program will consist of both in-person and virtual workshop sessions in the key design areas that entertainment creators need. Canva empowers over 225 million people globally every month - from all backgrounds and industries - to bring their ideas to life visually. Creating dedicated support for the people driving creativity within entertainment is a natural extension of Canva’s mission to empower anyone to design anything, anywhere.
Kickstart with Canva culminates with an opportunity to enter to win one of five US $20,000 Kickstart Awards that, along with support from Tribeca Studios, will help them further their development.
Each year the Kickstart with Canva program awards five winning films with kickstart awards and mentorship towards advancing their projects. The winners are also featured at a showcase event at the following Tribeca Festival to present their projects to an industry audience.
Learn more about the Winners.
The 2025 program will launch in June alongside the Tribeca Festival with an in-person design workshop, followed by virtual sessions in Summer 2025, hosted by Canva reps and designers. We are calling on all emerging independent creators - writers, directors, producers - working across traditional film, TV and immersive storytelling to join us.
Please see The Tribeca and Kickstart with Canva Contest Rules & Regulations here.
All workshop attendees will be granted a free 6-month Canva Pro subscription*. Creators that attend at least two sessions will be eligible to apply for a kickstart award in August 2025. To apply you must be based in the U.S. and have completed at least one writing, directing or producing project of any length.
The workshop sessions will be led by experts in both design and entertainment and will cover topics aimed to skill creators on creating dynamic and memorable pitch decks, marketing materials and design assets that will set your project up for success.
If you’re interested in attending the in-person and/or virtual sessions, please register here.
Workshop 1: Crafting Your Vision: Storytelling through Canva and ShotDeck
IN PERSON at Tribeca Festival: June 10th @ 4pm
Register HERE.
Ready to take your creative ideas from concept to captivating visuals? Join Oscar-nominated Cinematographer/Director and ShotDeck founder Lawrence Sher (Joker, The Hangover, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Garden State) and Kanani Koster, Screenwriter/Director and 2024 Kickstart with Canva Winner, for a hands-on masterclass in visual storytelling using Canva—the all-in-one visual communication platform.
Discover how Canva can transform your workflow by combining the cinematic power of ShotDeck with the collaborative capabilities of Canva’s Visual Suite. From moodboards to production docs, you’ll learn how to craft visual communications that bring your story, tone, and style to life—and keep your team aligned every step of the way.
You’ll also learn how to customize production materials with brand colors, design elements, and layouts - making your documents not only polished and functional, but ready to share and collaborate on with ease.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:
- Bring your project’s visual style to life using Canva
- Enhance presentations with visuals, using Canva’s ShotDeck integration and Magic Studio
- Collaborate seamlessly with Canva’s production templates
Workshop 2: Creating a Dynamic Pitch Deck with Canva
VIRTUAL: TBC
Make your pitch stand out with a deck that’s as compelling as your story. In this hands-on session, experts in design and entertainment will guide you through the process of building an engaging, narrative-driven pitch deck or lookbook that brings your creative vision to life to industry and financiers.
Discover how to use Canva’s powerful tools to shape a pitch deck that not only looks polished, but also clearly communicates your tone, style, and creative idea. From cinematic imagery with ShotDeck to dynamic elements like Magic Animate, video, and audio, you’ll learn how to create a pitch that leaves a lasting impression.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:
- Use Canva’s film and TV templates
- Build visual consistency with Canva’s Brand Kit
- Enhance your vision with visuals from ShotDeck and Magic Media
- Add movement and engagement with Magic Animate, video, GIFs, and audio
- Share decks with confidence using Canva’s analytics
Workshop 3: Designing Film and Marketing Assets with Canva
VIRTUAL: TBC
This session focuses on how to garner attention for your project via creating a suite of marketing assets in Canva; from building a website, marketing materials and social media assets for your independent project. Bring your property to life through marketing assets that authentically reflect the vision and story behind your work in a visually compelling way.
By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to:
- Unlock Magic Studio at scale
- Design for multiple platforms using Canva’s Visual Suite
- Create mockups that bring your promotional materials to life
- Build EPKs and websites to support your promotion
- Use Canva Print for your promotional materials
- Share everything you’ve created seamlessly
Workshop 4: Design feedback direct from Canva and Entertainment experts
VIRTUAL: TBC
Creators will sign-up for a spot to receive hands-on direct feedback from both Canva and entertainment experts on the decks and marketing materials they’re developing. A Q&A session will guide creators as they iterate on next steps for their work.
For more questions, please contact kickstartwithcanva@tribecafilm.com
*If workshop attendees already have an existing subscription to Canva Pro (whether yearly or monthly) the complementary subscription can only be applied at the expiry of their existing subscription period.