Documentary Development Program

The aim of Screen Australia’s Documentary Development program is to assist documentary makers in achieving planned outcomes for the development of their projects.

WHY?

The program primarily supports one-off and series documentaries, including online and VR. This could include:

• Further research
• Writing the next draft of a script or treatment
• Strategic shooting and/or editing to attract marketplace finance for the next stage of development or production; or compiling a sizzle reel.

WHAT?

While each of Screen Australia’s Documentary programs, across Development and Production, has its own criteria and eligibility, they all share the following goals:

• Strong storytelling: bold, engaging and distinctive stories that contribute to, or create, a national conversation; and shape or reflect identity
• Audience: we fund any platform but are looking for a clear and genuine pathway which connects to audiences in relation to the amount requested
• Culture and Diversity: to ensure storytellers and stories reflect gender equity and/or diversity of people and experiences from around Australia all of which are important culturally, creatively and economically.
• Talent: to identify and support emerging talent as well as create opportunities for experienced practitioners.

Screen Australia anticipates allocating direct funding of approximately $14-16 million across all documentary funding programs in 2019/20. With our limited funds, each program is competitive and we assess each project on how well it delivers on Screen Australia’s aims, assessment criteria, and how it compares to others submitted in the same round.

For more information, visit Screen Australia