Western Australia's not-for-profit screen funding and industry development organisation, Screenwest, has announced the launch of their new First Nations VR Truth-Telling Documentary Initiative.
Announced by WA's minister for culture and the arts, David Templeman, in Broome, the First Nations VR Documentary Initiative is designed to uncover distinctive WA First Nations voices, support their career progression and enable practitioners to explore new story-telling mediums and markets.
Screenwest is seeking "bold, creative and forward-thinking" short VR documentary concepts that explore the theme of Truth-Telling and how it relates to current First Nations conversations. The initiative will take place over three stages, kicking off with a one-day online workshop open to all WA First Nations creatives.
Following the workshop and a dedicated period of concept development, up to three concepts will be selected for production. The successful teams will be provided with up to $150,000 production funding each to produce a short VR documentary.
"The Kimberley is home to some of our State's most prolific First Nations filmmakers and it's my pleasure to launch this brand-new opportunity in Broome. By supporting local creative industries, we're helping to tell unique stories, building richer communities and diversifying our economy," Mr said.
Screenwest executive officer Rikki Lea Bestall said she is also eager to see local First Nations filmmakers use the initiative to communicate their stories, further educating the public and broader community.
"As a storytelling medium, VR allows the filmmaker to place the audience directly into their story. We're excited to see our local First Nations filmmakers use the initiative to convey untold truths about the experiences, past and present. A big thank you to Minister Templeman and Lotterywest for their ongoing support of the WA screen industry which allows Screenwest to run important initiatives like this," she said.
Guidelines for the Screenwest First Nations VR Truth-Telling Initiative are available now on the 'Special Initiatives' page on the Screenwest website with registrations for the online workshop opening soon.
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