******2021 Applications now closed******
Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund is a newly created fund to support new creative talent to tell the stories that need to be told about Britain today.
Introducing Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund
The 2021 Together TV Diverse Film Fund theme is Black British Lives Today. Five filmmakers will be chosen to receive:
Together TV inspires positive change and connects people to their communities. The fund will provide opportunities to create meaningful and impactful content to drive this inspiring positive change. The documentaries produced will explore diversity, creativity, community and contemporary lives, with a strong focus on inspiration and calls to positive action.
What you need to know
*However, you cannot have had a previous broadcast credit as a Director or Producer.
Timeline
Hear from the experts
In this webinar hosted by BFI Network Live and The Doc Society, industry experts and members of the Diverse Film Fund shared how to create film fund submissions and what makes great content. Speakers were:
- Satmohan Panesar, Commissioning Editor at ITV and Together TV Trustee
- Janet Olaofe, Head of Content and Scheduling at Together TV
- Cal Turner, Head of Factual Entertainment at Naked TV
- Loraine Blumenthal, documentary filmmaker
Applications closed
Submissions for Together TV's Diverse Film Fund closed on the 31st March at 12:00pm.
Thank you to everyone who applied. Make sure you keep an eye out on our website for any future opportunities with Together TV. If you would like to submit a Film for consideration during Together TV’s usual programming, head over to our Filmmakers webpage. Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch [email protected].
2021 Filmmakers
We were proud to announce in May the Filmmakers of Together TV's Diverse Film Fund for 2021.
They each receive £10,000 and mentoring to produce a short documentary on Black British Lives Today. They are:
Ikram Ahmed
Alexandra Genova
Sheila Kayuma
Jason Osborne
Blaise Singh
You can read their reaction in our news article.
FAQs
If you are working in TV, film or video, but do not have a previous broadcast credit, you can apply. As the successful applicants will be responsible for creating their documentary, some filmmaking experience is required. We will be accepting applications from recent graduates of Masters programmes or degrees in film and television.
You have to be residing and living primarily in the UK at the time of submission to apply.
There is no fee to apply for Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund.
You can apply as a production company so long as you have not had a previous TV broadcast credit as Producer/Director.
Yes, you can! Bear in mind you can only submit each idea once.
The documentary should be 10 minutes long.
We are looking for documentaries that reflect black lives in the UK today. Therefore, the content needs to be factual and non-fiction.
We will aim to premiere all five documentaries on Together TV’s channel through the month of October, which is Black History Month. Please refer to our terms and conditions for instances of why this might not occur.
Together TV needs you to develop, produce, post-produce and deliver your documentary. We will offer mentoring as part of the Diverse Film Fund, but you will need to use the funds to hire the crew you need to make your idea a reality.
The judges will be evaluating how the documentary reflects black lives in the UK today, the originality of the concept, the creativity of the execution, the effectiveness of the proposal to create positive change, the ability of the film to impact audiences and how the filmmaker adapts the project to Together TV’s viewership. The judges will also evaluate whether applicants demonstrate prior filmmaking experience and an understanding of narrative and characters.
After the closing date, there will be a pre-selection round where 10 ideas will be invited to expand on their ideas. The five successful candidates will be notified by Mid April 2021.
Yes, the filmmaker will retain the ownership rights of the documentary.
Together TV, the UK’s broadcaster for social change, is committed to improving diversity and inclusion in the programming it broadcasts. Last summer, Together TV ran a crowdfunding campaign that generated £18,000 towards supporting more diverse content for the channel. These donations have been matched with channel funds to create a debut £50,000 Diverse Film Fund.
If you require an alternative submission process for accessibility purposes, please reach out to our team via phone or [email protected].
Feel free to get in contact with the team via [email protected] with any additional questions that are not answered in the terms and conditions nor in the FAQ section.
You can read Together TV's Diverse Film Fund's full terms and conditions here.
The form will ask you to submit the following information:
About your film:
- Film Title
- Film's log line (10 word synopsis)
- Your film's treatment (up to 200 words describing the film)
- Directors statement (your vision for the film and how it delivers impact for Together TV)
Your experience:
- Your experience in filmmaking and TV production (100 words max)
- A link to showcase any work
Together TV will close submissions for the Diverse Film Fund at 12 pm BST on Wednesday 31st March 2021. We will not accept any application submitted after this time.
