Friday 29 March 2019
Origin-al talent invited to showcase skills on national platform
Screen Queensland (SQ) in partnership with National Indigenous Television (NITV) has officially launched Origins, an initiative that aims to break new ground through the development and production of format-based factual series by local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers.
The Origins initiative is open to all Queensland-based Indigenous writers, directors and producers and aims to create opportunities to build careers within the Australia media sector.
Shortlisted participants are invited to attend a masterclass in May 2019 where they will be given expert advice by a leading industry expert. This will be followed by a development workshop and up to three projects will receive funding to produce a pilot episode intended for broadcast on NITV.
"Origins is part of Screen Queensland's commitment to nurture and help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers build solid careers in the Australian screen industry and take their stories to a global audience," said SQ CEO Tracey Vieira.
"Queensland is home to a thriving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander screen community and we work hard to support the growth of talented Indigenous practitioners."
The Origins projects will be either factual 15 minute and/or 25 minute episodic series concepts with a uniquely Indigenous perspective demonstrating a clear target audience, with potential for broad appeal. Diverse creative teams are encouraged to apply.
Ms Vieira said, "Origins will help facilitate career advancement for Indigenous practitioners and aims to deliver screen stories that inspire, inform and entertain all Australians and remain a screen legacy for generations to come.
"We anticipate audiences will view these series in another millennia and get an insight into the stories that make us uniquely Australian. The Origins series will also show the skills and craftmanship of screen practitioners working today in Queensland's screen industry."
Tanya Orman, NITV Channel Manager said, "NITV is driven by a desire to not only present the fascinating breadth of Indigenous experience, perspectives and stories to a national audience but to find surprising and new ways to do so. NITV encourages innovation and Origins provides an opportunity to push the boundaries of imagination to serve our audiences fresh and focussed content that can also propel the sector towards new territory. We're thrilled to be doing this with our mob in Queensland."
The Origins initiative consists of three parts:
1) Masterclass (to be held in May 2019)
Queensland-based Indigenous Producers, Directors and Writers will be invited to submit an expression of interest to attend a one-day Masterclass with a high-profile industry expert. The masterclass will help to give participants a better understanding of how to make television formats that will connect with the target audience within budget parameters.
2) Development Stage and Development Workshop (workshop to be held in July 2019)
Up to three Queensland Indigenous Producers, Directors and Writers will be selected to develop a format based, factual series. During the development workshop, they will receive input from an industry format expert as well as NITV and SQ to deliver production ready submissions for pilot episodes
3) Pilot Production
Up to three of the developed projects will then be greenlit to enter production of a 15 minute or 25 minute pilot episode, intended to be aired on an NITV platform, with each pilot receiving up to $150,000 in production funding. The chosen teams will be offered discretionary consultation on their projects through the production process by an NITV Commissioning Editor as well as support from Screen Queensland.
Expressions of Interest for the Origins Masterclass VIA EVENTBRITE open today and close 5.00pm (AEST), Tuesday 7 May 2019.
Applications for the Origins Development Stage and Development Workshop VIA SMARTGRANTS close 5.00pm (AEST) Monday 10 June 2019.
APPLY HERE FOR ORIGINS MASTERCLASS
APPLY HERE FOR ORIGINS Development Stage and Development Workshop
