Screen Australia resources for documentary filmmakers

A guide to our resources for documentary filmmakers including funding, marketing, publications and archival programs.

Funding Programs

Marketing Support Programs

Theatrical P&A - funds to enhance a theatrical documentary’s marketing campaign and increase both audience and revenue.
Innovation Distribution - grants to documentary producers or distributors with alternative, non-traditional and/or innovative distribution and release strategies.
Festival and Marketplace Travel – grants to practitioners to attend a range of international events.
International Festival Materials – grants to enable creation of the screening and promotional materials required when films are selected to screen at key festivals.

Information Resources

International festival profiles: Find out what Australian films have screened at these festivals over the last 10 years. Discover deadline and screening information, and links to each festival’s official website to start entering your film.

International markets: Background information on international markets including contact details and websites.

Library and Sales

The Screen Australia Library is one of the largest and most historically significant sources of archival, documentary, stock footage and stills in Australia. Locations include Antarctica, South East Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Zero Fee Licence

Screen Australia’s Library offers Australian independent documentary makers up to 10 minutes of footage and 40 stills for a no-fee licence as part of the Zero Fee Licence initiative.
This initiative is intended for Australian independent documentary makers only and they must meet one of the following criteria:

their production has an Australian free-to-air or pay television pre-sale;

their production is an online documentary;

their production has funding from Screen Australia or a state funding body;

their production has a letter of interest from an Australian broadcaster or funding body;

the producer is a film student at an Australian educational institution; or

the producer/director is a member of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) or Australian Directors Guild (ADG).

Documentary sales

Screen Australia Sales provides distribution services for more than a thousand Australian documentaries and programs, including titles produced under the former National Interest Program, National Documentary Program and Making History Initiative.

Documentary-related publications and information sources

Documentary and Educational Programs Catalogue 2010 (PDF 3.4mb) (January 2010) Screen Australia is proud to continue Film Australia’s 60-year heritage, representing a diverse range of high quality Australian documentary and educational programs. This catalogue showcases recent programs produced under the National Interest Program and Making History Initiative together with independently produced programs and a selection of material from the rich library archive.
Documentary production in Australia: a collection of key data (PDF 1MB) (February 2010 - first published February 2004, revised annually) This report is published online and in hard copy for annual release at the Australian International Documentary Conference (usually late February). It provides a summary of the comprehensive statistics on production, funding, distribution and exhibition of Australian documentaries available online at Get the Picture.
Titles database The Screen Australia website has a searchable film database with over 4,000 Australian documentary titles since 1980, with credits, synopses, sales contacts and subjects.
A-Z Documentary Budgets Screen Australia’s A-Z Budgets are Excel templates designed to provide a guide to preparing budgets in the form required by funding bodies. The Documentary Budget has been revised giving an indication of the QAPE (Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure) status for Producer Offset applicants.
Pathways & Protocols: a filmmaker's guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concepts (May 2009) A comprehensive guide for all filmmakers working with Indigenous content and communities. Hard copies are available free of charge by emailing juliane.toa@screenaustralia.gov.au
Australian TV Drama and Documentary Catalogue (PDF 972kb) - March 2009 This catalogue offers up-to-date information about Australian TV drama and documentary productions - completed and in production as at Feburary 2009.
Info Guide: Information for Filmmakers (PDF 476kb) - September 2008 A guide to organisations and information sources for film and television production in Australia, including information on government assistance to production, co-production agreements, locations, taxation, immigration requirements and industrial awards.
Introduction to Copyright and Related Issues for Documentary Filmmakers (PDF 424kb) - February 2008 A guide to for documentary filmmakers covering Australian copyright information and related issues. (Please note hard copies no longer available.)
The Satchel - Production Budgeting & Film Management (December 2007) The ultimate how-to guide, by practitioners, for practitioners. 2007 edition. Only $130 (incl. GST and postage).
What is a Synopsis? An Outline? A Treatment? (PDF 100kb) A short and simple explanation of synopses, outlines and treatments for drama and documentary.
Guide to Cinema Captioning (PDF 212kb) and Cinema and DVD Captions Budgeting Guide (Excel 24kb) The Guide to Cinema Captioning should be read in conjunction with the Cinema and DVD Captions Budgeting Guide spreadsheet. All feature films approved by the former FFC Board from 1 July 2007 and the Screen Australia Board from 1 July 2008 require captioning for cinema and DVD. As of 1 January 2009, all feature film budgets submitted to Screen Australia must include the costs for captioning. It is now the production company’s responsibility to organise and pay for captioning.