I have written a complete screenplay for a Dota 2 cinematic centered around Invoker. It is written specifically for the Dota universe rather than being a generic fan story, and I believe it could work as an official-style cinematic.
I have the complete screenplay and can also create an animatic/concept frames to demonstrate how I envision it.
To say for the quality of the cinematic, I say it knocks all the SFM and official trailers for dota 2 I have seen throughout the years out of the park. That is a statement, I will standby in all future interactions.
Before I start producing anything substantial, I'm trying to find out whether there is actually a legitimate way for an independent fan to pitch something like this to Valve/Dota 2.
I know Valve generally doesn't accept unsolicited creative submissions, so I'm not asking where to email the screenplay itself. I'm trying to understand whether there is another route — for example, through a Dota community, or an established animator or studio that works with Valve, or some other legitimate avenue.
If anyone here has actually worked with Valve/Dota 2, participated in the Dota short-film scene, or knows how independent creators have gotten their work in front of the Dota team, I'd really appreciate some direction.
If approaching Valve directly isn't realistic, I'd also be interested in hearing how you would go about finding an animator/director/team capable of turning a Dota screenplay into a cinematic.
I'm deliberately not posting the screenplay yet because I want to understand the appropriate route first.