Special Initiatives
Our initiatives include production, project development and skills development programs, designed to support Western Australian practitioners and companies.

Elevate
Applications close Monday, 19 September 2022 at 5:00pm AWST.
Elevate invests in the professional skills development of our most talented emerging filmmakers who are committed to a career in film and television, by providing funds to produce a scripted short form project – through either Elevate30 or Elevate70.

Environment and Climate Solutions Short Form Initiative
Applications close Sunday, 21 August 2022 at 9:59pm AWST.
The national short form documentary initiative is designed to provide opportunities for early career filmmakers to hone their documentary craft and create a short documentary for ABC TV and ABC iview under the mentorship of Doc Society and ABC.

First Break
Applications close Friday, 29 July 2022 at 5:00pm AWST.
The Australian Writers’ Guild and Screenwest are pleased to launch First Break in Western Australia – a unique professional development program designed to give talented, aspiring WA screenwriters the opportunity to gain in-demand and practical skills, develop their understanding of the screen sector, and build industry connections.

WA Reflections
Applications are now closed.
A partnership between The State Library of WA and Screenwest, WA Reflections is a capacity building initiative will enable up to six, early to mid-career Western Australian filmmaking teams to produce documentary films of up to five minutes in duration. Up to $15,000 production funding is available per project.

Last Days of the Space Age - Screenwest Professional Skills Development Program
Applications are now closed.
Screenwest and Princess Pictures are supporting up to four Western Australian screen professionals to further their careers through a skills development opportunity in NSW on Last Days of the Space Age for Disney+.

ABC Factual Formats Initiative
Applications are now closed.
Screenwest and ABC Factual and Culture have partnered for an initiative that will invite WA producers to create new returnable, half hour format series with broad audience appeal for ABC TV and ABC iview. This initiative seeks to co-develop up to three ideas, with the opportunity for at least one project to go into production in late 2022 – early 2023.

SBS Emerging Writers’ Incubator
Applications are now closed.
The SBS Emerging Writers’ Incubator is a nationwide initiative from SBS in partnership with Screen Australia, state and territory agencies, aiming to promote inclusion among Australian screenwriting talent and to provide significant work experience in drama production to writers with lived experiences that have been underrepresented in the sector.

Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge
Applications are now closed.
Epic Games and Screenwest are looking for new voices and talent from across the film, TV and games sectors eager to engage with new, innovative technologies and alternate methods of storytelling. WA creators can apply for up to $50,000 in production funding to create an animated short film of up to five minutes using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 software.

Industry Enhancement Program
Applications are now closed.
The aim of the Industry Enhancement Program is to build a more sustainable Western Australian screen industry, by increasing the production levels in Western Australia and by leveraging international and national funding into the State.