ABC Children’s and Screen Australia have partnered on The Kaleidoscope Project, a new funding initiative that will back the creation of up to four standalone films that capture what it’s like to be a young culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australian.
ABC and Screen Australia are providing more than $200,000 to fund four six-by-five minute web series under a new initiative - Art Bites.
"Each creative team is to imagine the episode is like an open letter to their 12-year-old self that explores the hopes, the dreams, the challenges, the hardships and the belly laughs that drive today’s girls," the ABC said in a statement.
Some 11 short documentaries about climate and environmental solutions will screen on the ABC next year after being backed via the Your Planet initiative.
The South Australian Film Corporation will commit $5.2 million over three years to an ABC-specific matched development fund as part of a new partnership between the national broadcaster and the state agency.
The ABC has used its submission to the Federal Government's media reform green paper review to request an additional $90 million in funding, while at the same time joining SBS in dismissing content obligations as "unnecessary".
With the ABC looking to ramp up its natural history slate from next year, it has partnered with Doc Society to support early career filmmakers to create short-form documentaries focussing on solutions to climate and environmental challenges.
The public broadcasters have been accused of neglecting single documentaries, resulting in a lack of diversity in stories.