Edge of Nature: Short Film Fund
The EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund supports and nurtures emerging natural world storytellers to create fresh, out-of-the-box storytelling approaches to engage GenZ audiences and spotlight EDGE species and habitats.
Delivered by Wildscreen in partnership with On the Edge, this new short film fund will catalyse new and creative projects by emerging filmmakers globally, bringing new perspectives and fresh approaches to the natural history filmmaking genre.
Applications are now open and full fund information is available below.
Application deadline 5pm BST, Thursday 5th October 2023.
What is Edge?
- EDGE species are Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species in the plant, fungi and animal kingdoms.
- They collectively represent billions of years of evolutionary history. When they’re gone, there’s no replacing them.
Edge Zones
- EDGE Zones add up to less than 1% of earth’s land collectively but hold one-third of the planet’s terrestrial vertebrates.
- They are spread across five continents, from the humid forests of Madagascar to the mountainous Western Ghats region of India.
The Fund
The EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund is your chance to bring your natural world film project to life! Delivered in partnership with On the Edge, the fund will platform unique stories and storytelling talent from across the international wildlife production and conservation ecosystem, spanning off-screen to on-screen talent. Applications will be open to filmmakers globally.
Grants of between £2,000 to £15,000 are available.
Successful grantees will receive training, support, mentorship, and their films will be previewed at Wildscreen Festival 2024.
Project Criteria
Projects must;
- Have an aspect of an Edge Species or Edge Zone as the central focus
- Be a film-based short (minimum 1 minute, maximum 40 minutes). It can be any genre, including animation and genres other than traditional Natural History
- Not have any finance already secured or agreements in place from a broadcaster, platform, sales agent etc. and cannot have previously been broadcast, transmitted or commercially distributed in any form
- To read the full Terms and Conditions, including further project eligibility criteria click here.
Applicant Criteria
To be elgible to apply, applicants must;
- Be 18 years of age on or before the 1st October 2023.
- Not have any professional (i.e. broadcast) Producer or Director credits (please note that this does not include student projects).
- Have less than five cumulative years of paid experience within the film and television industry.
- Have a maximum of one Assistant Producer credit.
- Not be in full time education at any point between October 1st 2023 and November 1st 2024.
- An application can be submitted by one person or a team. If a team, only two people can participate in the virtual live pitching session in October 2023. Full applicant eligibility is outlined in the terms and conditions.
What you need to apply
To apply you must provide a Project Treatment, Project Budget and Project Plan.
Guidance and templates are available to download below. If you require translated versions of these resoruces please contact georgia.torres@wildscreen.org.uk. Please note that you don’t have to use these templates for your Project Plan or Project Budget. Budgets must be submitted in GBP. A currency convertor is available on the Budget Template.
How to apply
Complete the online application form (available via the button below). An application overview is also available below. Please note that all applications must be submitted via the online application form. Applications submitted in any other format will not be accepted. Submissions can be made in any language. Application deadline 5pm BST, Thursday 5th October 2023