Screenwest and the State Library of Western Australia are pleased to announce the WA Reflections – Our History Rediscovered short documentary production initiative, designed to share Western Australian culture and stories with the community, is back for 2022.

Now in its second year, the capacity building initiative will enable up to six, early to mid-career Western Australian filmmaking teams to produce documentary films of up to five minutes in duration. Up to $15,000 production funding is available per project.

The selected filmmakers will have the opportunity to creatively utilise a select list of available items in the State Library’s collection, with the purpose of uncovering and sharing Western Australian stories in a creative and engaging way. The archival collection items include letters, diaries, journals, photographs and oral recordings.

The inaugural WA Reflections projects, released in 2021, ranged from a dramatization of a ballroom murder mystery, a celebration of WA’s musical history in the 60s, a creative exposé of our streets, a journey of prospecting in the Goldfields from the 80s to the present, to an immersive VR in depth look at famous Perth architect Iwan Iwanoff’s designs. All five previous projects can be viewed on the State Library’s website or YouTube channel.

“The role of the State Library is to collect, preserve and share Western Australian stories. WA Reflections is an innovative channel for us to share our collection with new audiences.” said Catherine Clark, CEO State Library of WA and State Librarian.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with the State Library once again on this exciting and uniquely Western Australian initiative. We can’t wait to see the surprising and creative ways in which our history is reimagined for the screen.” said Rikki Lea Bestall, Screenwest CEO.

How to Apply

Applications close 4 July 2022 at 5:00pm AWST.

The full guidelines, SmartyGrants application link and eligibility criteria are available on the Initiatives page of the Screenwest website.

Program Contact

For more information about this program, please contact:

Paul Williams, Documentary Manager
Screenwest
T: + 61 8 6169 2116
E:  paul.williams@screenwest.com.au

Projects with Indigenous key creatives are encouraged to contact:

Devina McPherson, Indigenous Manager
Screenwest
T: (08) 6169 2112
E: devina.mcpherson@screenwest.com.au

Projects with Diverse key creatives are encouraged to contact:

Alison Hayles, Diversity Manager
Screenwest (Wednesdays and Thursdays)
T: (08) 6169 2109
E: alison.hayles@screenwest.com.au