Northern Ireland Screen call for New Shorts Focus scheme

Northern Ireland Screen has launched this fiction development scheme for under-represented talent

Northern Ireland Screen has launched New Shorts Focus which is a fiction development scheme specifically for under-represented new and emerging Northern Ireland resident writer and writer/director talent.

Eligible applicants must have at least one previous independently made or funded writer or writer/director credit at short film level.

Scheme details

The development process is a writer-led initiative which will be facilitated by a development producer over a six-month period from October 2023 to March 2024.

New Shorts Focus will be delivered online with monthly development meetings. The participants will be asked to deliver project drafts monthly, normally a week prior to each monthly meeting.

Participants are supplied with script coverage to assist in the re-drafting process each month and must be available to attend each online monthly development session.

How to apply

Applicants are asked to submit up to a maximum of two, one-page outlines for initial consideration. Completed scripts are not accepted at the application stage.

The submitted idea(s) must be able to stand alone as a short and must not be an extended trailer for a potential feature project.

The scheme is not open to animation or factual creative talent and participants from previous years cannot re-apply to the scheme.

Find out more and apply for New Shorts Focus.

First published 22 June 2023