Film Otago Southland Regional Scholarships – Big Screen Symposium 2026

Film Otago Southland is pleased to be offering two regional scholarships to enable two regional industry practitioners to attend Big Screen Symposium on 3 – 4 July 2026 in Auckland.

Big Screen Symposium brings the screen practitioners of Aotearoa New Zealand together for debate, discussion, information and inspiration.

The event is for all those who bring our stories to the screen. It presents a big picture of the world of film and television, a great networking opportunity, and a wealth of insights and information on the pertinent issues facing screen practitioners today.

Delegates are immersed in two intensive days of conversations, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions and case studies with a stellar line-up of local and international filmmaker speakers.

Big Screen Symposium is brought to you by Script to Screen.

Each scholarship will include:

• 1 x ticket to the two-day conference in Auckland
• A $500 travel bursary to contribute to travel and accommodation costs

Eligibility criteria:

• Applicants must be based in Otago and Southland
• Applicants must primarily work in the screen industry, or be actively working towards a career in the screen industry
• Applicants must be available and able to commit to attend the conference on 3 – 4 July 2026
• Applicants must not have previously been awarded a BSS Scholarship from Film Otago Southland

The Application Process

In order to apply, please send through an application via the Apply Now button below by 5pm Friday 17 April 2026.

The Selection Process

• All applicants that are deemed to be eligible and have sufficiently supplied the application details via the Google Form will be put into a lottery
• The selected recipients will be drawn from the lottery at random
• The selected recipients will be required to sign an agreement committing to attend the conference and to use the travel bursary towards conference travel and accommodation costs
• Film Otago Southland will purchase the event ticket on behalf of the recipients, but travel and accommodation arrangements will be up to the recipients to organise – flexible arrangements are necessary due to a risk of the event being re-scheduled. Film Otago Southland will reimburse $500 of the costs upon production of receipts
• The successful recipients and all applicants will receive notification of selection by the end of April

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➡️ SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION HERE

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