Special initiatives
Please note: Effective 1 April 2019, successful initiative applicants are not eligible for PEP funding for the same project.
Screen Australia can allocate Documentary funds to special initiatives. These initiatives leverage finance from third parties in order to grow the funding pool available to practitioners, or to otherwise advance digital storytelling activities and talent escalation.
Current initiativeS
VICE Australia, Screen Australia and the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) are returning for a third year to co-present Pitch Australiana, a pitching competition offering local filmmakers the chance to win a $50,000 commission for a short-form documentary for VICE’s tentpole series, Australiana.
The Initiative will commission up to 3 documentaries of 25 minutes in length, directed and produced by Australian filmmakers. This Initiative is underpinned by Screen Australia’s aim to support and inspire Australian practitioners to look for and embrace international opportunities, particularly in a rapidly diversifying global screen landscape
PAST initiatives
A joint initiative between Screen Australia and Network 10 spotlighting the diversity of LGBTIQ+ lives and communities in regional and/or rural Australia.
Skip Ahead is a joint initiative of Screen Australia and Google and aims to help a new generation of online storytellers expand their vision and ambition. Up to six projects will be funded and up to $100,000 is available per project.
Art Bites
A joint initiative with the ABC, Art Bites is an initiative that develops web series that will be an accessible, engaging and entertaining insight into an aspect of Arts in Australia. Proposals will be assessed against the channel’s vision statement ‘Where Life and Culture Collide’. The web series should be designed to appeal to younger audiences, 18–35 years.
Doco180 aims to fund up to six documentary shorts, each with a maximum 3 minute duration. The films will premiere on whimn.com.au and its associated social channels and be made exclusively with a digital audience and medium in mind.
An Initiative will commissioning up to three short documentaries of 15 to 30 minutes in length, directed and produced by teams with at least a director and a producer, one of whom has at least one screen credit in their respective role on a project that has been broadcast and/or screened at a recognised film festival or distributed on a significant curated online platform.