Documentary Australia in partnership with Screen Queensland have announced applications are now open for SheDoc, a grants program aimed at giving women and girls a stronger and more equal voice in documentary storytelling. “We want to hear more stories to be told by women about women, while at the same time strengthening and elevating the careers of talented female filmmakers,” Documentary Australia CEO, Dr Mitzi Goldman commented..
Dr Goldman said that the grants will be offered to up to six Queensland-based female documentary filmmakers to support travel, research, and development of their projects, with funding from $10,000 to $30,000 available per recipient. Dr Goldman added that in addition to support from the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland, the grants are made possible by generous funding from the estate of James Simpson Love, with the additional support of the Nelson Meers Foundation.
“Women’s perspectives and treatment of issues through documentary need to be given space to ensure that female voices are heard in mainstream media,” Dr Goldman commented “The program nurtures and elevates the careers of filmmakers and their projects’ outcomes.”
Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney said that the SheDoc 2024 grants are open to Queensland-resident documentary makers at any stage of their career, who are working or pursuing careers in key creative roles including editing, sound and cinematography. Practitioners can apply for funding to pursue a range of professional development opportunities, including but not limited to course tuition, mentoring, conference registration, consultant fees, research, travel and accommodation. Feeney said the broad nature of the SheDoc 2024 initiative offers uniquely tailored support for documentary screen practitioners of all levels and disciplines and will underpin critical stories yet to be told. “Queensland-based, female key creatives are behind some of the country’s most important documentaries to have recently screened to Australian and international audiences, including WildBear Entertainment’s Ford Vs Holden and The Black Hand, Inkey Media’s Rebel with a Cause, Blackfella Films’ First Weapons and Flick Chicks’ Bowled Over: A Dragumentary,” Feeney commented “This valuable partnership with Documentary Australia will open doors exclusively to Queensland practitioners for the first time since the program’s inception, boosting the career trajectory and national profile of our state’s talented, female factual filmmakers.”
Dr Goldman explained that the SheDoc Fellowship was established in 2016 by Documentary Australia to address the significant underrepresentation of women in key creative roles in media and documentary filmmaking. The program fits within Documentary Australia’s seven key focus areas: Environment, Youth & Education, Indigenous, Human Rights & Social Justice, Health & Wellbeing, Women & Girls, and The Arts.Goldman added that now in its third round of funding, SheDoc 2024 provides a voice for women to speak to their own lived experience and also to accelerate change for the benefit of women and girls through documentary storytelling. Applications are encouraged from women from under-represented backgrounds, including those identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA+, culturally and linguistically diverse, living with disability and based in regional and remote areas. The goal of SheDoc 2024 is to develop and foster women’s voices exploring varied and nuanced perspectives on issues that affect the lives of women, and to support creative and leadership aspirations amongst female-identifying documentary filmmakers. Since launch, SheDoc has boosted the careers and projects of a number of talented documentary makers, including director Vera Hong, filmmaker Gemma Quilty, producer Charlotte Mars, Philippa Batemen, Justine Moyle and Georgia Quinn. This was achieved by providing financial support for their professional development, helping them to work with experienced mentors, move between key creative roles, travel, develop new ideas, and to experience attachments within international production companies.
Previous recipient and award-winning producer, Philippa Bateman, said the initiative had provided her with unparalleled support: “SheDoc was professionally life-changing,” Bateman commented “It gave me the confidence to do things outside how I was defined in the industry.”
Applications for SheDoc 2024 close on Friday 15 December, 2023