New focus on online documentaries

15 November 2017 By Screen Australia

Screen Australia wants to support more online documentary content and will be making this a priority in the remaining two rounds of the Producer Program for the 17/18 financial year.

Those with ideas for an online and interactive linear documentary will find changes have been made to the guidelines to create more flexibility and encourage applications from a broad range of documentary makers.

Please note:

Teams should comprise at least a director and a producer who should have at least one documentary credit in their respective roles on an equivalent project that has been publicly released (this includes on YouTube).
The linear documentary can be any length but we encourage budgets of at least $2,000 per minute. Anything less than this should be discussed with an Investment Manager prior to submitting your application.
Screen Australia can fund up to 100% for outstanding projects, but the application must demonstrate a clear pathway to audience via online or interactive means, which include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and distribution models with tablet, mobile, PC or Smart TVs.

Liz Stevens, Senior Manager of Documentary says, “Producer Program funds were always intended to support bold and innovate online docs, as long as they have a pathway to an Australian audience. But that pathway is broad and we’re prepared to take a few risks if you are and we want to see more Australian documentary content online.”

“Documentaries play an important role in our society. They inspire, inform, entertain, uncover injustice, shine a light into unseen worlds and can work to build better communities. Globally, the online docs market is expanding and evolving rapidly. We want to support Australian docs to cut through the online noise and participate in one of the most exciting times for content since film was invented.”

"So if you want to expand your YouTube channel, tell a story through VR, or have an online platform to distribute your content then reach out, because we want to hear from you.”