EAT funding meeting

Just attended a meeting to discuss funding applications for the new Emerging Artist Trust. This new trust is in the very first funding round, so it was as much a meeting for them to find out what they can do better next time as for us to find out how to apply for the dosh. The fund is unusual in many ways, not least that it is privately funded when the other NZ funding bodies (Film Commission, NZ On Air, Screen Innovation Fund) are all at least partly publicly funded. The cash amount they award is very small - NZ$2000 - so not really any use for a decent size film production, but unusually they will fund wages and more interestingly they will pay for preproduction costs for documentaries, i.e. research, something no film fund in New Zealand pays for. Unfortunately, apart from the small award, they are now thinking of having only two instead of the three funding rounds initially planned. Since this really only funds a tiny part of any production, or only a very small one, it seems that they should award money more often, for quick and dirty projects, not try to match the ponderous application process the other funds have. If I was knocking out a small piece I wouldn’t want to have to wait up to 6 months to find out whether I get any money for it. Still, the more funding bodies the better in this hostile climate. And these guys have promised to give feedback for rejected applications, which would be useful in itself.