- Screenrights has announced $293,400 in funding for six projects through its 2026 Cultural Fund, themed around Learning Through Story, supporting screen education and storytelling initiatives across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Three Australian projects focused on First Nations and disability inclusion will receive funding: Young Yarnz ($50,000) for a curriculum-aligned digital learning platform featuring First Nations knowledge holders; Studio Gilay's Animation as Living Story ($50,000) to address the underrepresentation of Indigenous practitioners in animation; and Brock Casting Services' Lights On ($49,400) to create screen industry pathways for disabled creatives.
- Two Aotearoa New Zealand initiatives were selected: Nine Islands Media's Māori & Pasifika Impact Producing Lab ($50,000), an eight-week online professional development programme; and Film Bay of Plenty's He Kōrero Tuku Iho – Stories Carried Forward ($44,000), a place-based storytelling workshop series for diverse communities.
- A $50,000 grant will support The Writers Lab, a script development intensive for female, non-binary, and gender diverse screenwriters over 40 from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, based on an established model already operating in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Europe.
- Since its launch in 2018, the Screenrights Cultural Fund has now provided over $2.2 million in funding to support innovative initiatives that foster the creation and appreciation of screen content across Australia and New Zealand.
Screenrights has announced six projects will be supported by the 2026 round of its annual Cultural Fund, to total $293,400 in funding for this year’s focus of Learning Through Story.
Young Yarnz will build a classroom focused digital platform with interactive, curriculum aligned learning modules around screen content featuring First Nations knowledge holders, with a grant of $50,000. Brock Casting Services’ ‘Lights On: Story-Led Learning for Disabled Creatives’ will receive $49,400 for their disability-led screen training initiative to remove the structural barriers that prevent disabled creatives from accessing real pathways into the screen industry. And Studio Gilay will receive $50,000 for ‘Animation as Living Story’, a series of culturally safe online modules designed to transform industry production methodologies, addressing the underrepresentation of Indigenous practitioners in Australian animation.
Two Aotearoa New Zealand initiatives have been selected: a ‘Māori & Pasifika Impact Producing Lab’ will provide training in impact producing for up to eight Māori and Pasifika screen practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand, provided by Nine Islands Media and supported by a $50,000 grant; and ‘He Kōrero Tuku Iho - Stories Carried Forward’ will see Film Bay of Plenty deliver a place-based screen storytelling series of workshops and story labs supporting diverse communities to translate lived and cultural stories into screen narratives, with $44,000 in funding from the Screenrights Cultural Fund. And a $50,000 grant will support ‘The Writers Lab for women screenwriters over 40’ to select female and non-binary writers over 40 from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to participate in a script development intensive brought to Australia by Brooke Hemphill and based on a successful model rolled out in the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe.
“This year’s focus, ‘Learning Through Story’, attracted an exceptional calibre of applications. From culturally safe classroom tools to mentorship for emerging storytellers, the six selected projects will help diverse screen stories reach and empower communities across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Screenrights Board Director and Cultural Fund Working Group Chair Tom Alegenourias. “The Screenrights Cultural Fund continues to be a vital springboard for initiatives that break down barriers and build lasting sector capability.”
The Screenrights Cultural Fund makes a difference by supporting people with exciting and innovative new initiatives that foster the creation and appreciation of screen content in Australia and New Zealand. Including this year’s funding round, the Cultural Fund has now provided over $2.2 million in funding for projects since it was launched in 2018. Applications were assessed by a panel of professionals with both local and international expertise in screen, media and education.
https://www.screenrights.org/cultural-fund
Successful applicant images are available here.
ABOUT THE SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
Animation as Living Story
Activity: A series of culturally safe online modules designed to transform industry production methodologies, addressing the underrepresentation of Indigenous practitioners in Australian animation. Modules will be based on the stages of the animation pipeline and will provide practical guidance for creatives to meaningfully embed Indigenous story into every stage of the animation cycle from initial concept to technical execution. The resource will be hosted online via a free, open-access microsite, ensuring it is available to students, producers and studios throughout Australia. In parallel, a comprehensive survey of the animation industry will be conducted with the University of Sydney, collecting data to quantify current gaps in Indigenous representation and protocol.
Location: Sydney, NSW, and online across Australia
Amount Funded: $50,000
Recipient Quote: “Studio Gilay is Australia’s leading majority Indigenous-owned animation studio, and proud recipient of the 2026 Screenrights Cultural Fund. This is a major milestone for us, and the beginning of important work. The grant will allow us to deep-dive into the immense power and impact potential of Indigenous storytelling in the digital realm. As we step into this space, we recognise that our role as a conduit, bringing the rich stories, knowledge systems, and artistry of our communities to life with animation – also requires building rigorous protocol around those voices to enable safety, protection and sustainable practice.” – Jake Duczynski, Studio Gilay
He Kōrero Tuku Iho - Stories Carried Forward
Activity: A place-based screen storytelling learning programme delivered across the Bay of Plenty, supporting diverse communities to develop the skills and confidence to translate lived and cultural stories into screen narratives through a combination of workshops and story labs. The programme focuses on learning rather than production, creating space for participants to explore story, voice, and perspective in a supported environment. Key sessions will be captured and developed into a digital learning resource, extending the programme’s impact beyond immediate participants and supporting ongoing access for educators and emerging creatives.
Location: Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand
Amount Funded: $44,000
Recipient Quote: “We're incredibly excited and grateful to receive support from the Screenrights Cultural Fund. It gives us the opportunity to bring He Kōrero Tuku Iho - Stories Carried Forward to the Bay and support local storytellers to develop stories grounded in place, identity and lived experience. We can't wait to bring everyone together and get started.” Jade Kent, Film Bay of Plenty
Lights On: Story-Led Learning for Disabled Creatives
Activity: A disability-led screen training initiative to remove the structural barriers that prevent disabled creatives from accessing real pathways into the screen industry. With an inaugural five-person pilot proving the model works, Cultural Fund grant funding will support three new outcomes: a documented story-led curriculum; a protected online learning platform hosting training materials and downloadable resources; and a new cohort of eight participants to test, refine and strengthen the model. Participants learn on-camera skills, screen literacy, professional confidence and industry readiness through engaging with screen stories and developing their own, with immediate impact for participants and lasting infrastructure for the screen sector that can be delivered, licensed and adapted nationally long after the grant period ends.
Location: Brisbane, QLD, and online across Australia
Amount Funded: $49,400
Recipient Quote: “Lights On started because I could see there was a gap in our industry. Incredible disabled talent was out there, but the pathway in wasn’t. Our pilot showed us just how much potential there is when people are given the right opportunity, training and support. This funding is a huge step towards changing that. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built so far, and even more excited about where Lights On can go from here. Thank you, Screenrights, for believing in and supporting our vision.” – Liza Brock, Brock Casting Services
Māori & Pasifika Impact Producing Lab
Activity: An 8-week professional development programme for up to eight Māori and Pasifika screen practitioners across Aotearoa New Zealand, the lab provides training in impact producing for film and series, focusing on how stories can be designed to reach, engage, and influence audiences and communities. Delivered entirely online, the programme combines live workshops, applied strategy development, and facilitated feedback sessions. Delivered by Māori, Pasifika, and international impact experts and produced by Nine Islands Media, the lab responds to a clear gap in the New Zealand screen sector, where impact producing is not yet widely taught or formalised, particularly in ways that centre Indigenous and community-led storytelling approaches. The programme is supported by Ngā Aho Whakaari and Pasifika TV / PCBL, strengthening reach, participation, and dissemination of outcomes across Māori and Pasifika screen communities.
Location: Auckland, NZ and online across New Zealand
Amount Funded: $50,000
Recipient Quote: “There’s incredible Māori and Pasifika storytelling coming out of Aotearoa, but there are still very few opportunities for practitioners to learn how to build impact around that work. This Lab is about giving people practical tools to think beyond the screen - to build partnerships, reach the communities and decision-makers who matter, and create strategies that can help our stories have a longer life and greater effect. We’re really grateful to Screenrights for backing us to create that opportunity and invest in a growing area of practice for Māori and Pasifika storytellers.” – Cleo Fraser (Te Arawa), Nine Islands Media
The Writers Lab for women screenwriters over 40
Activity: A script development intensive for female, non-binary and gender diverse screenwriters over 40. Based on a successful model that has been running for 12 years in the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe, the intensive will see 12 writers mentored and supported to advance and build their screencraft, community, and careers, at a 5-day, 4-night in-person Lab intensive. Hosted by The Writers Lab founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon, the intensive will pair writers with established industry mentors who will share feedback and support to further the projects and the careers of participants. The Lab will empower a select group of talented writers in this historically disenfranchised demographic by building skill sets, preparing the cohort for employment, and increasing genuine and authentic on-screen representation of women and gender diverse people to inspire, educate, and activate audiences.
Location: Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia (applications will be open to all female and non-binary writers over 40 from Australia and New Zealand)
Amount Funded: $50,000
Recipient Quote: “I had the incredible fortune to attend The Writers Lab flagship international Lab in 2023 and ever since, I've been urging the founders, Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon, to come to Australia. We are beyond thrilled to receive this grant and support Australian and New Zealand women over 40 in their screenwriting careers, craft and community as we work to tackle on-screen ageism and gender bias. With only nine of the 29 highest-grossing Australian films of the last 10 years crediting female writers, there is an urgent need to strengthen the pipeline of female-led projects that platform female-centric narratives and female protagonists. With Screenrights' support, we can do exactly that.” – Brooke Hemphill
Young Yarnz
Activity: An interactive learning application that helps teachers deliver culturally safe First Nations learning through guided screen stories and classroom ready activities. Through a pilot scheme, Young Yarnz has built a strong library of culturally led video lessons featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers and knowledge holders, and has proven that schools want this learning. However, the current LMS is not designed for primary school classroom delivery and does not allow truly interactive learning on classroom screens. This project will build a simple, classroom focused application designed for use on interactive screens, packaging screen story lessons into a guided classroom experience with a teacher facilitation mode that sequences the lesson, provides prompts, and supports discussion and reflection.
Location: Fremantle, WA, and online across Australia
Amount Funded: $50,000
Recipient Quote: “We’re incredibly grateful to Screenrights for supporting the next stage of Young Yarnz. Teachers across Australia are required to teach First Nations content as part of the curriculum, but many tell us they simply don’t have the resources or confidence to do it, so it often ends up not being taught. This funding will help us change that. With the support of the Screenrights Cultural Fund, we’ll build a purpose designed digital platform that transforms our screen content featuring First Nations knowledge holders into interactive, curriculum aligned learning modules. For Young Yarnz, this is a huge step towards making quality First Nations education more accessible to classrooms across Australia.” – Marlanie Haerewa, Young Yarnz
About us:
Screenrights is a non-profit organisation that provides rights and royalty management services to the screen industry, and facilitates access to screen content for licensees. We license Australian and NZ educators, and Australian government and pay TV retransmitters, to copy and communicate broadcast content. From the licence fees we collect, Screenrights distributes royalty payments to rightsholder members for the programs being used. Screenrights also provides services to the screen industry such as worldwide royalty collection, film and television disbursements, performer residuals management, and an annual Cultural Fund. www.screenrights.org
Contact details:
Sarah Steel
0478 177 429
