Call for Entries: Screenrights Cultural Fund

Audio-visual copyright society Screenrights has announced a new Cultural Fund to support innovative new projects which will foster the creation and appreciation of screen content in Australia and New Zealand.

The total pool available for the 2018 Cultural Fund round is $200,000 and applicants are invited to apply for up to $50,000.

“Technology creates a wealth of opportunity, but not one which is shared equally. There remain geographical, technological, skills-based and financial barriers that restrict access for students and educators to meaningful screen content,” said Screenrights CEO Simon Lake.

The focus of the Cultural Fund will change each year in response to trends and issues in screen content creation.

In 2018, the Cultural Fund focus is education and, more specifically, solutions to overcoming barriers to access and use of meaningful screen content for teachers and students in education and training.

While the Cultural Fund is not a production fund, it can support a wide range of activities, from small individual projects and events through to large-scale initiatives. For example:

projects which break down barriers to access, which bring the outside world in to remote and isolated communities
workshops that foster inclusive collaboration
services that deliver content to users in innovative ways within the education sector
start-ups that upend existing business models to support the creation, delivery and use of content
forums that bring together creators, educators and students to leverage their knowledge, skills and resources to build new ways of learning
initiatives that support the curating of digital resources and the teaching of critical awareness to enable teachers and students to confidently navigate the online environment and create a positive long-term digital footprint
projects that shape conversations and/or debate in our society.

Ideally, these activities will have committed partners to ensure maximum reach, and the potential to impact on the career of the recipient and their body of work, as well as to positively influence the screen industry more broadly.

To apply, projects will ideally be new. Existing projects or re-workings of existing projects that do not respond to the Cultural Fund focus or align with the qualities underpinning the Fund are not eligible.

Applications will be assessed by a panel of professionals with both local and international expertise in the screen industry and in education. The 2018 panel includes: Jenny Buckland, CEO Australian Children’s television Foundation (ACTF); Richard Harris, Independent Screen Professional (formerly: Head of Business & Audience, Screen Australia; CEO, SAFC; Executive Director, ADG); Tanya Orman, Channel Manager National Indigenous Television (NITV); and Alice Shearman, Executive Director New Zealand Writers Guild. Peter Banki, Partner of Banki Haddock Fiora, will act as Chair. Panel members will make recommendations to the Screenrights Board of Directors for consideration.

More information about the fund can be found at: https://www.screenrights.org/cultural-fund/

Applications should be made on the Cultural Fund 2018 application form

Applications for the 2018 Cultural Fund are now open and close on 6 July 2018.