Tilting the Lens is partnering with Screen Ireland for the programme, called Screen Stories: Getting Disabled Writers in the Room. It will support up to five screenwriters, while also addressing historical and systemic barriers for disabled people in the film & TV industry.

 

Tilting the Lens has announced a script-mentoring partnership and bursary with Screen Ireland’s National Talent Academy for Film & Television Drama initiative, which aims to diversify existing talent in the film and TV industry in Ireland. The programme, Screen Stories: Getting disabled Writers in the Room, will support up to five disabled writers to achieve their full potential in screenwriting, while aiming to address systemic barriers that have historically limited their participation, promotion and success.

Eibh O’Brien-Collins of National Talent Academy for Film & Television Drama said, “we’re delighted to be broadening the nature of training available to writers to ensure that those who have previously been excluded from the writers’ room can be supported. Working with Tilting the Lens, we hope to curate a dedicated programme that empowers new voices and new storytellers in the industry.”

Founder of Tilting the Lens, Sinéad Burke, said, “in our work championing accessibility, equity, and social justice, we have always believed that greater visibility and representation of disabled talent was vital behind the camera as well as in front. Much of the work of Tilting the Lens sees us advising major global brands and media platforms, guiding them in their move from awareness to action by creating more accessible practices, policies, and places. This partnership with National Talent Academy for Film & Television Drama will allow us to collectively gauge and assess the level of interest and need across the disabled community to work, gain experience, and create a pipeline of expert talent across the film and television sectors, enabling us to advocate collectively for further resources, increase the sector’s capacity and intersectional diversity.”

The call for applications is live on the National Talent Academies website. The scheme is open to ideas for a live action-drama, short film, or TV series, and the process will be made as accessible as possible for all applicants.

The closing date for applications is Friday 17th May, 2024 at 12 noon.

The development programme, which runs from approximately June to November 2024, will enhance the writing and editing skills of the participants, allowing them to progress a script or scripts. It comprises training, peer-networking, workshops, talks, Q&A sessions with acclaimed industry professionals, and one-to-one mentorship in areas that selected participants require support in with creatives within and outside the film and TV sector. The programme will provide engagement with disabled and non-disabled industry experts. A bursary will also be provided to participants to support them as they devote time to the programme.

To support the selected disabled writers in their specified ambitions, the programme will be curated and designed, with bespoke training, mentoring and events developed to drive forward work by new and emerging talents.

The National Talent Academy Film & TV Drama is an initiative of Screen Ireland and is managed by Ardán.

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