Kōpere Hou reflects the colour, the radiance and beauty of a new rainbow and is symbolic of the significant display and presence of a well-crafted short film.
Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts offers a rare opportunity to get funding for your short film idea. You can apply with live-action, animation or documentary projects between 4 and 25 minutes. The programme was established to find talent with distinct voices and aims to nurture, challenge, and inspire the selected filmmakers through a development and mentoring process.
Six teams will be selected to receive up to $30,000 to facilitate the cost of making their short film. The teams behind each of these projects will attend a two-day development workshop in June 2024 and be matched with experienced industry practitioners to receive six weeks of mentoring as they get their project ‘shoot ready’.
There are two stages to the application process.
At Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage One you will need to have a writer, director and producer to submit the following:
- Team Video Link (4 minutes max duration). Tell us what the heart of your story is and why you want to make this film.
- Genre (select 2 genres from the list supplied)
- Logline (35 words max)
- Script
- Director’s summary (300 words max)
- Director’s visual inspiration images (5 images, one page each, in a single PDF upload)
- Producer’s summary (300 words max)
- Tangata whenua, diversity, representation, and collaboration summary (if applicable) (300 words max)
- Short bio & filmography for each team member (bio 250 words max each)
Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage One is open now and will close at 1:00pm on Monday 6 November. Applications are made via the Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts Funding Portal.
A shortlist of 18 teams will be selected from the Stage One applications and invited to submit a Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage Two application in January 2024. From the shortlist, six projects will receive $30,000 grants. The teams behind each of these projects will attend a two-day development workshop held 8-9 June 2024 and will be matched with experienced mentors to get their project ‘shoot ready’. The focus is on the development of both people and stories.
Criteria and requirements for the assessment of both Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage One and Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage Two can be viewed on our website. If you have any questions, please contact Script to Screen: FreshShorts@script-to-screen.co.nz
KEY DATES
WHIRINGA TUATAHI – STAGE ONE
APPLICATIONS OPEN: NOW, Wednesday 27 September 2023 (Apply via Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts Portal)
APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 1pm, Monday 6 November, 2023
ANNOUNCEMENT OF SHORTLISTED TEAMS: Early January
WHIRINGA TUARUA – STAGE TWO
APPLICATIONS OPEN: Monday 15 January 2024
APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 1pm, Monday 26 February 2024
ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUNDED TEAMS: Late April 2024
DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP DATES: 08-09 June 2024
MENTORSHIPS: 10 June to 19 July 2024 (Six weeks)
Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts is an NZFC initiative run in partnership with Script to Screen.
Photographer Xander Dixon. From Hey, Brainy Man directed by Jo Randerson & Loren Taylor 2023
