The art of film development
Not even the most skilled director can make a good film from a bad script.
Creating a script that speaks to genre and audience is the first step towards making a distributable film. Our development process involves engaging with the producers and writers from conception to a final script that is ready so that finance can be raised for production.
Once we commit to developing a script, our development executive will work with the writers to create well-rounded characters and a meaningful journey that audiences can engage with. This process covers the delivery of a treatment and character bible, up to three drafts and the final polish draft that is signed off by Indigenous Film Development.
We acknowledge that no process has a 100% success rate, but our intention is to be able to create, through script development, projects that we become equity partners in – through production and on to distribution.
Indigenous Film Development is seeking concepts that cover four main regions:
- International: Films made locally that can attract international commercial sales;
- World: Films that may not be commercial, but that will gain critical acclaim from leading local and international festival circuits;
- Continental: Films that will have strong commercial appeal both locally and on the continent; and
- Urban: Films that will have strong local commercial appeal.
Script writing is a carefully honed skill that requires intense workshopping and a strong understanding of the requirements of a good story, including character, journey, plot and resonance; it is only through full commitment to feedback and engagement that we stand the best chance of creating stories that have a chance of going into production.