Domestic Market Travel Support Program - MIFF 37ºSouth: Bridging the Gap 2026

Screen NSW’s general eligibility requirements can be found in our Terms of Trade, which should be read in conjunction with these guidelines.    

All applicants must fulfil the following criteria: 

• Be an emerging or mid-career practitioner with relevant experience in producing screen content 
• Have a slate of market-ready projects to pitch
• Be a key creative on slate project/s: producer, writer, director
• Be over 18 years of age and a NSW resident (i.e., lived and operated in NSW for at least six months immediately before the date of application)
• Be an Australian citizen or full-time resident
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Intends to submit an application to participate in MIFF 37°South: Bridging the Gap*
• Is available to attend the entire MIFF 37°South Market in person from 6-9 August 2026. 

*Note: Applicants do not need to have submitted or know of the outcome of their MIFF application when applying to Screen NSW, but funding for successful applicants will be conditional on being accepted into MIFF 37°South: Bridging the Gap. 

Applications will not be accepted from:

• Full-time secondary or tertiary students
• Other government departments and agencies
• Applicants who have not applied to participate in MIFF 37°South: Bridging the Gap
• Applications who are in breach of any obligation under any funding agreement it has the with NSW Government.

Screen NSW is dedicated to promoting fairness and equality in its programs and engagement with the industry. Our main priorities include supporting increased industry participation of people from underrepresented groups, and practitioners from the following NSW Government key priority areas are encouraged to apply: 

• First Nations people
• Regional NSW
• Western Sydney
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• People living with disability
• LGBTQIA+ people.

For this program, Screen NSW defines an emerging or mid-career practitioner as:

• Emerging: someone who has 1+ years of professional experience
• Mid-Career: in the mid stages of their careers with a reasonable history of practice and credits, a body of work and a degree of recognition.

Available funding

Up to $1,500 ex GST of grant funding per application is available.  

Successful applicants will need to organise their own travel and accommodation and cover all travel costs up front. After contracting, they will invoice Screen NSW for the agreed sum to cover a portion of these expenses. As part of the funding agreement, successful applicants must provide Screen NSW with an acquittal report at the conclusion of travel. 

What you can get funding for

A set amount to assist with flights, ground transportation, accommodation, and reasonable costs associated with attending the event (such as meals).

The track record of the applicant including relevant experience in the screen industry. The Assessor will review details provided in the application including: 

• CV of applicant
• Evidence of relevant screen industry experience and previous credits (if applicable). 

The strength of your application, considering the opportunities provided by attendance, including:  

• A statement of how attending MIFF 37°South: Bridging the Gap will benefit professional development/projects 
• An indicative schedule of events and proposed industry meetings 
• The status of any projects in development.  

The potential of the market travel opportunity to contribute to the NSW screen industry including: 

• A description of how attendance will benefit the work being undertaken by the applicant and proposed future contribution to the NSW screen industry. 

Diversity of the applicant, including whether they increase participation from any of the NSW Government key priority areas. 

You must submit all core materials listed on the application form. 

• Profile of the applicant demonstrating their relevant track record
• CV/resume of the person/s proposed to attend
• Statement of intended objectives for attending the event
• Details of any project/s in development and a short statement of how attending the event will benefit the project/s 
• Intended plan for the market, including planned activities, networking opportunities and proposed meeting list. 

Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants. 

Eligibility 

Applications will be initially reviewed by Screen NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable. If your application is assessed as ineligible, you will be advised via email within 14 days of this assessment. 

Assessment 

If your application is considered eligible, it will progress to an internal assessment by Screen NSW staff with consideration against the Assessment Criteria.  Screen NSW staff will assess and score applications individually. 

Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. Evaluations will consider the Assessment Criteria outlined above, the strength of other applications and the availability of Screen NSW funds. 

Recommendation and Decision 

Based on the outcome of the assessment process, recommendations for successful applicants will be provided to the designated decision-maker, typically a Senior Manager, Screen NSW, for consideration and approval. 

Additional Considerations 

Screen NSW may, at its sole discretion, and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following:  

• Require additional information from an applicant
• Change the scope or the requirements of these guidelines
• Vary, amend (including by replacement) or terminate the application process
• Re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants.

Screen NSW aims to turnaround applications within 3 weeks from the application close date. Applicants will be advised of the application outcome via email.

Successful funding recipients will enter into a standard non-negotiable funding agreement with Screen NSW, setting out the terms and conditions of the funding including deliverables, acquittal requirements and treatment of unspent funds.  

Recipients are required to provide a written report detailing the outcomes of attending the event as part of the acquittal process.  Receipts proving travel and accommodation expenses and attendance are also required at the time of acquittal. 

An agreement will not be issued, and payments will not be made, to any funding recipient until any outstanding Screen NSW acquittals have been submitted.

The NSW Government Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the funding agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide).

This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the funding awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the funding agreement is executed.

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).

Any conflicts of interest will be managed in accordance with NSW Government Grants Administration Guide.  

A conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, may be identified if staff, any member of a committee or advisor and/or you or any of your personnel: 

• Has a professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process
• Has a relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently, or
• Has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the organisation received funding under the program.  

If you identify an actual, apparent, or perceived conflict of interest at any time, you must inform Screen NSW immediately via email at industry@screen.nsw.gov.au. 

NSW Government staff, committee members and other officials including the decision maker must declare any conflicts of interest and ensure they are managed as per the Department’s Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Grants Administration Guide.

Details on how Screen NSW handles complaints, access to information and your private information is available at: 

https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dciths/policies-plans-and-procedures/access-to-information/agency-information-guide