After 13 years of support from Foundation North we are proud to open applications for the 2026 South Shorts Script Mentorship programme. This programme will continue to support new and emerging screenwriters from the South Auckland community* to enhance their screenwriting capabilities. Take the leap and submit your story ideas to be a part of this unique development opportunity. South Shorts will help you develop your story idea/s (short film or web series), write a script, share your unique perspective, and advance your screenwriting career within a supportive framework.
During this mentorship programme (August-November 2026), you will attend a series of one-day Saturday hubs alongside like-minded creatives, be led through focused script development and receive one-on-one feedback under the guidance of writer, and director Briar Grace-Smith (Cousins, Waru). Briar has mentored the past 8 years of South Shorts, and she brings considerable experience and knowledge from her own projects.
The hub days are shaped based on your needs and involve script read-throughs, writing exercises, and hearing from guest speakers about their experiences making films. We also look forward to adding sessions around pitching ideas, funding, working with actors and further development tasks to the programme as required.
On completion, you will leave South Shorts with new skills and tools to develop your work, a great new network of like-minded practitioners, a developed script, and greater confidence in yourself as a screenwriter.
We also welcome applications from past participants of the South Shorts programme, who wish to develop a new script idea.
Submission Requirements:
Opens: Fri, 12th June 2026
Applications Closed: 1 pm, Monday 13th July 2026
Notification of outcome: 20th July
WATCH THE 2025 WEBINAR RECORDING BELOW:
2026 Programme Dates:
August-November 2026. All participants need to be available for all the following dates:
- Saturday August 1
- Saturday August 29
- Saturday September 26
- Saturday October 31
- Saturday November 28
Who is eligible?
- This initiative is intended for people who live in South Auckland or are connected to the South Auckland community – maybe you grew up there, have whānau there, or feel connected to the community in some other way.
- Aged 17+
What you will need to submit:
About you: (A written application or video submission outlining the below.)
- Short biography (300-word limit of written submission)
- Why would this programme be valuable to you? (300-word limit if written submission)
- Summarise your connection to South Auckland
About your project: (Written)
- Short film or webseries logline** (One to two sentences summarising your short film or webseries concept – what and who is it about?)
- Synopsis of your short film or webseries idea (600-word limit)
- Outline why you want to tell this story.
Optional material:
- Script or written document for your short film idea (optional)
- Links to prior work. (optional)
- Other Narrative work you may have done: Dance, Song, Theatre
Video Submission Requirements:
Video submissions should be no longer than 5min.
- Submit your video via a link:
- Upload to YouTube unlisted
- Share a Google Drive link, give access to STS Gmail: scripttoscreennz@gmail.com
- Email us if you have any issues with submitting or need another option.
*This initiative is intended for people who either live in South Auckland or are connected to the South Auckland community – maybe you grew up there, have whānau there, have worked there for years or have another genuine connection to the community in some way.
**Applicants need to submit at least one short film concept and it can be at any stage – it may simply be a new idea (synopsis) that the writer is pursuing for the first time, or the writer may have already written multiple drafts. Applicants can submit more than one short film idea in their application.
The South Shorts Mentorship Programme is made possible thanks to generous support from Foundation North.
Information Last Updated on Friday 12 June 2026
