Documentary Development Program
Screen Australia
Development money for documentaries headed for cinemas, television or direct-to-audience platforms such as YouTube and VR.
up toA$30kRepayableany time
Regional fund Australia, Brisbane
Short Film Fund
Run by Screen Queensland
Grants of up to AUD 50,000 for 5 to 15 minute shorts aimed at cinema screens, with a polished screenplay required at application and no treatments accepted. Six projects shared AUD 300,000 in the first round. Online-first releases and proof-of-concept pieces without a standalone story are out.
Grant up to A$50,000Open to writers in AustraliaA writer with a producer
Next dates not yet published
That closing date has passed. We check the funder's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
The money
- Amount
- Up to A$50,000Up to AUD 50,000, which may be the whole budget
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer with a producer
- Where you write
- In Australia
- Rules
- A Queensland-resident producer and director, who may be the same person. The director needs a short that screened at a recognized festival, or a producer with two fully budgeted credits. Full-time students are excluded. Production and post must happen in Queensland and the crew must be paid award rates.
- Stages
- Production
- Formats
- Short
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. Closed; the first round's recipients were named in late October 2025 and the next round's dates are not published
Also open to writers in Australia
Documentary Production Program
Screen Australia
Three lanes for documentary production: Producer First for films still closing finance, Platform First for commissioned programs, and Direct-to-Audience for work released on YouTube…
up toA$500kInvestmentcloses in 95 days
First Nations Documentary Development
Screen Australia, First Nations Department
Treatments, draft scripts, research and sizzle shooting for documentaries by First Nations key creatives, including emerging producers.
up toA$30kGrantcloses in 74 days
First Nations Feature Development
Screen Australia, First Nations Department
Draft money for feature screenplays by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers with a track record.
up toA$45kGrantcloses in 74 days
More production funding elsewhere
AFS Grant
Austin Film Society
Texas filmmakers have their own state fund: cash for features and shorts in production or post, with camera and finishing packages on top.
up to$20kGrantbetween rounds
Minnesota Film Production Grant
Jerome Foundation
The Minnesota twin of Jerome's New York City grant: up to USD 30,000 of production money for early career directors who take creative risks, applied for in two steps each fall.
up to$30kGrantcloses in 23 days
New York City Film Production Grant
Jerome Foundation
A production grant for New York City directors near the start of their careers, in any moving-image form from animation to documentary.
up to$30kGrantcloses in 23 days
BPM Open Call
Black Public Media
Public television's fund for Black nonfiction stories runs one call a year: five projects get USD 20,000 and a place at PitchBLACK, where one leaves with up to USD 150,000 of production…
range$150kInvestmentbetween rounds
Also useful
Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.