National Features & Documentary Competition
What do the kangaroo, autism, international adoption, coal seam gas, same-sex marriage and the riot grrrl movement have in common?
They’re all subject matter going under the spotlight in the inaugural community radio National Features & Documentary Competition. Established as a partnership by the Community Media Training Organisation and the CBAA’s Community Radio Network, the scheme will see 10 Community radio producers receive free mentoring on their way to producing feature-length documentaries, that will then be syndicated to community stations nationally. There will also be tales of migrant Australians, urban activism, a trip into Adelaide’s 70s rock scene, and an examination of high levels of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.
The competition invited applications in early 2014, and the event organisers were pleased with the response. “We had over 40 applicants vying for the mentoring intake” says CRN Operations Coordinator Martin Walters. “The ideas were so distinctive and interesting that it led to a real challenge for the judging panel”. The quality resulted in judges (the panel included experienced producers with backgrounds ranging across the community broadcasting sector as well as the ABC and BBC) allocating places to more entrants than initially planned for.
Producers from country and city stations, from a number of states, are represented in the successful intake, reflecting the community sector’s inherent diversity.
“The competition aims to establish a focal point for quality storytelling in the sector, as well as assisting emerging talent in audio documentary-making” says Walters. “We’re also expecting the development of multimedia components for many of the pieces, which will bring additional depth to the work”.
Watch this space – the 10 features are being produced over the coming months and will be launched as a series through the Community Radio Network in late 2014.
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