The Climate Story Fund prioritises climate stories that focus on the most affected, the unengaged and the underrepresented, and puts them at the centre of the story. The Fund also prioritises storytellers who work in and from these communities, sharing narratives that resonate deeply with new and unengaged audiences, bringing them into critical conversations around climate justice.

The selection process will be guided by such principles. In addition, it will give preference to projects that embody inclusion and diversity through the team and the theme, and will exercise responsible practices by involving participants and communities.

We are looking for creative non-fiction projects, including feature-length, short or episodic documentaries, as well as podcasts and radio documentaries, that can complete production in 2023 with support from the Climate Story Fund. The Fund also supports completed creative non-fiction and fiction projects of any medium seeking to pilot an impact campaign in 2023 to engage audiences not typically included in the climate conversation.

Storytelling as a creative practice is at the centre of this fund and while no previous experience with impact campaigns is necessary, we need you to be open and willing to embrace this way of working! Each grantee will be invited to participate in an Impact Lab where storytellers will collaborate closely with professionals, from climate scientists to impact producers and movement builders, to ensure they draw on existing expertise and advocacy efforts to engage their intended audience.

If you are selected for funding and decide to join the cohort, Doc Society will participate as collaborators, partners and your biggest champion. We see our role as "friend of the artist" and the team here at your service throughout production and right up to release. We have one of the best curatorial benches in the business and will offer you first-class editorial feedback. You can also count on the support of our commercial and legal team if necessary. We have expertise in safety and security, if relevant. When the project is finalised, we also have long-term relationships with festivals, distributors and commissioners to help ensure that the stories are seen by key audiences. This support is included as part of our investment.

The Climate Story Fund is unique in the media ecosystem not only because of its comprehensive support through production, but also because of its total commitment to helping you launch an impact campaign alongside the launch of your project.

You don't need to be an impact expert to become a fellow, but we do need you to be open and committed to the possibility of the change your project can help ignite in society. Starting in the Impact Lab, we'll support you by developing an impact strategy that leads naturally from your project and complements the opportunities in the mainstream and the priorities within the climate movement. We will provide counselling sessions with climate strategists who can provide knowledge and intelligence about the thematic area and the target audience. We will help you identify regional impact producers who can support the implementation of the campaign. Finally, we will also provide consultancy sessions with experts to help develop frameworks and tools to track impact and learnings. In short, we not only seriously support creative excellence, but also strategic impact. If you're ready for that journey, come and join us.

Timeline:

1 December 2022 Call for applications opens
11 January 2023 Climate Story Fund Q&A webinar for interested applicants
1 February 2023 Call for applications closes at 11:59 PM PST
27-31 March 2023 Shortlisted candidates will be contacted to provide rough cuts (if ready) and extended materials
17-21 April 2023 Zoom interviews for shortlisted candidates
8-12 May 2023 Selected scholarship holders will be notified
22-26 May 2023 Unsuccessful candidates will be notified
5-9 June 2023 Virtual Impact Lab week for all new grantees

We can support you:

• Projects from around the world, these can be localised stories serving local communities, or projects suitable for a global audience
• Projects by both new and established artists
• Creative non-fiction projects, including feature-length, short or episodic documentaries, as well as podcasts and radio documentaries in production
• Complete fiction and creative non-fiction projects for any media that wants to make an impact

We can't support it:

• Stories seeking development funding or in the pre-production phase
• Fiction stories looking for production funding

Requirements

• Applications must be submitted online via the Doc Society's application portal here
• All projects must have a climate theme with the intention of implementing an impact campaign. We don't need you to be an impact expert, but open to the idea
• To be eligible for production funding, projects must complete production by 2023
• To qualify for impact funding, projects must pilot an impact campaign in 2023
• As part of our grants to this fund, we require all grantees to participate in an Impact Lab to connect with impact producers and climate experts, to help develop impact strategies, and to design impact campaigns that build on existing expertise and advocacy efforts to engage their intended audience. Project teams should be able to attend our virtual Impact Lab during the week of 5-9 June 2023.

Bear in mind:

• We are pleased to receive applications from Producers, Directors, Line Managers or Impact Producers for the project
• If you want to work on the application's questions offline, you can download a preview of the application
• The Climate Story Fund application form is part of the Non-Fiction Core Application Project, an initiative by international documentary funders to reduce the burden on storytellers/artists/filmmakers by providing the same application form across funders. Guidance can be found at https://www.documentary.org/core-application
• This application is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. If you would like to submit your application in another language, please send an e-mail to climate@docsociety.org until 16 January 2023. We'll let you know if we can fulfil your request
• The Doc Society created the Field Impact Guide as a useful resource for building impact campaigns. We encourage you to consult it. Other resources to consider are Green Protocol of the Doc Society, the COVID-19 protocol and the Safe and Secure.
• Our production grant funding is recoverable on a pro-rata pari passu basis. This means that where our funding is recovered, it is for recycling to go directly to the project's impact campaign. This does not apply to impact campaign funding, which is not recoverable.