Investment & Support

Film Intensive Script to Screen (FISS) program – Writers and Storytellers


August 17, 2023
Writers, courtesy of Stowe Story Labs.

Location: Cairns

Duration: Run over dates from October 2023 – March 2024. Refer to the key dates below for more information.

Cost: This is a full scholarship (free) development program.

Applications closed Friday 13 September

Screen Queensland in partnership with Essential Screen Skills’, Film Intensive Script to Screen (FISS) program will support writers and storytellers from North and Far North Queensland to gain job-ready skills and industry credits.

About the program

The entry-level program is open to people with little-to-no industry practice but a passion for storytelling. Applicants must be 18 years and over, including those with transferrable skills from other professions to support crew development in the North and Far North Queensland screen industry.

The program is in-person, taking place in Cairns on specific dates (see below). Exceptions can be made for family commitments upon discussion. Participants will have the opportunity to work over 3 stages of pre-production and production, creating the scripts that the crewing program participants will ultimately film.

Applications are encouraged from people from under-represented backgrounds in the screen industry. The FISS program will also provide an option for people to tell their stories through working collaboratively with experienced scriptwriters.

With the new Screen Queensland Studios, Cairns development underway, now is the perfect time to build your skill set to take advantage of new job opportunities in the North and Far North Queensland screen industry.

This program is funded by Department of Employment, Small Business and Training and proudly supported by the Queensland Government through its Workforce Connect Fund and is delivered in partnership with Essential Screen Skills Qld, Kolperi Outback Filmmaking and Screen Well.

Find out more about the FISS initiative for crew.

PDF Transcript

Who can apply

To be eligible to apply, all applicants must be: 

  • Available for the dates as per the outlined schedule.
  • An Australian citizen or Permanent Resident, aged 18 or over.
  • Based in North/Far North Queensland or the surrounding region. Refer to the map here
  • An early career practitioner, school/university/Tafe leaver or graduate wanting to get into the screen industry.

SCHEDULE (subject to change):

  • Onboarding day for all participants: 20 October 2023

PHASE 1 (all participants)

Proof of concept weekends

  • 21–22 October 2023
  • 4–5 November 2023
  • 18–19 November 2023

PHASE 2 (all participants)

  • Shooting block: 4–8 March 2024

PHASE 3 (all participants split into two groups)

  • Shooting Block 13 ­–18 May 2024

WRITERS ROOM

  • 27 November–1 December 2023 (accommodation will be provided)

WRITERS LAB

  • 18–22 March 2024 (accommodation will be provided)

COMPLETION

  • Formal screening and debrief: 19 July 2024 (approx)

Applicants who do not fulfill these obligations will not be eligible. 

Screen Queensland encourages applications from under-represented groups in the screen industry. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with disability and other diverse experiences across cultural and linguistic backgrounds, gender, sexuality, age and socio-economic status.

Screen Queensland believes that everyone has a story to tell but not everyone may be able to articulate their story through the written word or have access to script writing software or the computer skills to tell their story. The FISS program will provide an option for people to tell their stories through working collaboratively with experienced scriptwriters. Contact our team for more information fiss@screenqld.com.au.

How to apply

To apply, please click here. Applications are due by Friday 8 September, 5.00pm. Late applications will not be assessed.

If you require any assistance with completing an application, please email Joshua Beckett at fiss@screenqld.com.au or phone 0401 965 083.

Preparing your application

To apply for the FISS program, you will be required to:

  • Provide a 200-word biography about who you are, your most recent education status (just graduated, looking at enrolling) and why you’re applying for the FISS program.
  • OR a 60-second video introducing yourself, explaining who you are, why you’re applying and the industry you are from.
  • Have your primary residential address located in North or Far North Queensland.
  • Be available to attend the onboarding day and subsequent filming periods that are shown in the schedule for the FISS Program.
  • Have the availability to travel to Cairns to attend the FISS program.

Please note late applications cannot be accepted. Screen Queensland reserves the right to not accept incomplete applications. Application material will not be returned by Screen Queensland.

An automated email will be sent to you within 30 minutes of submitting your application to confirm that Screen Queensland has received your application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to contact Screen Queensland if you do not receive an application receipt email.

How applications will be assessed

Applications will be assessed on the basis of: 

  • Your passion for storytelling conveyed via your CV or video
  • Your availability to attend and engage in the entire process.

Assessments will be undertaken internally by Screen Queensland staff and all applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by Wednesday 20 September.

Documents to read before applying

Screen Queensland Strategic Plan 2023­–25

Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Charter

Please note that our 2023–25 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program is currently in development. 

FISS program outcomes

The Film Intensive Script to Screen (FISS) program is part of the North Queensland Regional Program and will provide participants the following:

  • Employable and set-ready skills for below-the-line departments.
  • Education on the screen industry, focusing on the North and Far North Queensland regions.
  • High level contacts for production companies and active film and tv practitioners based in the North and Far North Queensland regions.

Through the FISS Program, writers will take part in a Writers Room by a Head Writer, in which they will develop:

  • 3x short Proof of Concepts (POC’s) that 3 groups of the Crewing participants will produce in Phase 1.
    • These POC’S will be taken from the applications received and workshopped for the Crewing Participants to shoot in stage 1.
  • 1x 20-minute that all the Crewing Participants will produce in Phase 2
    • There will be a Writers Room held and it will be the responsibility of the Head Writer to bring this script to Producer Ready Status
    • The Writers Room will take place on the 27th of November until the 1st of December.
  • 2x 10-minute shorts that 2 groups of the Crewing participants will produce in Phase 3.
    • There will be a Writers Lab held on to the 18th of March to bring, whatever scripts were not chosen to be the stage 2 script, up to production ready status to be shot in stage 3.
Contact

Coordinator, Industry Pathways Program

Joshua Beckett

fiss@screenqld.com.au  

Screen Queensland believes that everyone has a story to tell but not everyone may be able to articulate their story through the written word or have access to script writing software or the computer skills to tell their story. The FISS program will provide an option for people to tell their stories through working collaboratively with experienced scriptwriters. Contact our team for more information.