Director of 2017 Screenability short ‘Tip of My Tongue’ Samia Halabi with mentor Samantha Lang.
Create NSW has loosened the guidelines for the Screenability Filmmakers Fund, announcing that it will now support emerging filmmakers with disability from across Australia.
The fund, which opens for applications today, offers up to three teams with at least one key creative who identifies as having disability $30,000 each to produce a short which will then be considered for premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.
Previously, the short film fund supported entirely NSW-based teams, but the agency has widened the scope to encourage involvement from emerging filmmakers with disability from other states. The caveat is that the key applicant (who does not necessarily need to be the creative who identifies as having disability) needs to be a NSW permanent resident. Successful projects must also be produced and post-produced entirely in NSW.
Create NSW is looking for projects with broad appeal (with or without disability content), and will appoint an executive producer to oversee the successful projects.
Eligibility includes people with sensory or physical impairments (including deaf people), hidden impairments, intellectual impairments, learning difficulties or mental health conditions, who face barriers accessing opportunities in the screen industry.
“We’ve received a fantastic level of interest for our Screenability initiative and opening this up to wider talent from across the country will help ensure that the fund continues to nurture and support exciting emerging filmmakers that can otherwise face barriers to entry in the industry,” said Create Investment and Engagement executive director Elizabeth W. Scott.
“We are very proud to extend our support to a national level and look forward to uncovering more talent in the year ahead.”
The Screenability Filmmakers Fund is part of a suite of initiatives under Screenability NSW, an open-ended policy commitment by Create NSW to work with industry to grow participation in the screen sector by Australians with disabilities, which also includes internship programs and film festivals.
The three films supported by the fund last year were Tip of My Tongue, Intimate Encounters: 20 Years On and Broken, which all screened at the Sydney Film Festival.
For more information and to apply, visit here. Applications close Sunday October 28.