Sky Documentaries, the home of world-class, real-life stories from award-winning and emerging filmmakers, has today launched its first documentary shorts fund in partnership with APX Content Ventures (a centralized global practice within Publicis Media) to champion directors from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Sky Documentaries shorts initiative will provide up to £500,000 to fund several documentary shorts, with a runtime of 10-30 minutes. The initiative will support creative talent from underrepresented minorities who face barriers to opportunities due to physical and mental health or disability, and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic or traveller communities. This new program will invest in and spotlight a new wave of UK filmmaking talent, ensuring a clear and accessible pathway for emerging directors interested in creating distinctive and quality shorts, as a steppingstone to creating longer form content.
Entries should be artistically ambitious, whether an intimate biography, intriguing sporting history, a jaw-dropping crime mystery, a reflection on major global events that resonate universally or can be inspired by something altogether different and extraordinary. Commissioners will be looking for filmmakers who will craft shorts that prioritise the story, are specific, engaging and driven by a clear original vision.
APX Content Ventures have invested in the initiative, which includes covering the costs associated with production process for the successful candidates.
Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual commented: Since the launch of Sky Documentaries, the award-winning channel has built a reputation for working with the best UK factual talent, to bring original and premium limited series and features to our discerning audience. As we build on this success, we are pleased to launch our first documentary shorts fund to support creative voices from underrepresented groups around the country. We want to meet talent we don't yet know and hear creatively ambitious ideas, so please get in touch!
Katie West, Head of Content, APX Content Ventures UK (Publicis Media), said: We are very excited to see our investment help this important programme come to fruition. We believe diverse voices are a critical part of the success of the TV and film industry, so we are committed to funding and facilitating opportunities for underrepresented voices to be heard. We can't wait to see what applicants produce with this new shorts fund in partnership with Sky Documentaries.
To apply, applicants should visit the dedicated website and fill in the application form, attach a CV and a written treatment of their idea with a creative outline no longer than two pages. Submitting tape is not required but will be considered if attached. Applicants must be a UK resident to apply and only one application per person will be accepted. Entries for the initial round of funding will be open from today until midnight, Sunday 17th July. The Sky Documentaries shorts initiative will be accessible throughout the year and further opportunities to apply for the fund will be announced in the autumn.
The documentaries shorts fund is part of Sky's ongoing support for developing emerging talent which includes The Screenwriters Fellowship in collaboration with Netflix and Bisha K. Ali and Sky Studios and Birmingham Repertory Theatre's comedy writing programme.
More from BskyB
20/11/2025
Thursday 20 November 2025
Football seven nights a week, as Sky Sports secures a...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
17/11/2025
Monday 17 November 2025
Sky brings top comedy talent to screens with new stand-up specials
Sky and streaming service NOW are bringing audiences a fresh dose o...
14/11/2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Documentary short, Children No More, comes to Sky this December
Following its world premiere at DOC NYC yesterday, Sky today announces...
14/11/2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Sky to remain the home of Ryder Cup and DP World Tour through 2029
Sky and the DP World Tour have today announced a four-year partners...
13/11/2025
Creative Trio Join Lorne Michaels' Late Night Comedy ShowcaseThursday 13 Nov...
13/11/2025
Thursday 13 November 2025
Innovation with Integrity: A UK Path to Responsible AI and Copyright
Innovation with Integrity: A UK Path to Responsible AI and Copy...
13/11/2025
Thursday 13 November 2025
Sky Sports launches Halo', a new TikTok channel for female sports fans
Sky Sports has today launched Sky Sports Halo, a brand-n...
12/11/2025
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Sky unveils first of its kind clean power system for film and TV production
Sky has today unveiled a major new clean energy system ...
10/11/2025
Monday 10 November 2025
Sky News partners with Arc XP to power the future of digital journalism
Today, Sky News can announce that it has partnered with Arc XP...
07/11/2025
Friday 7 November 2025
Alessia Russo inspires 180 girls at inaugural Alessia Cu...
06/11/2025
The prequel to the Sky Original mob crime saga is a six-part drama tracking the ...
06/11/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
05/11/2025
Wednesday 5 November 2025
Brits urged to turn off' bad phone behaviour as ...
05/11/2025
Wednesday 5 November 2025
Watch the official trailer: Battle of the Irish Dance...
04/11/2025
Tuesday 4 November 2025
Matt Smith stars in Sky Original limited event series T...
03/11/2025
Monday 3 November 2025
Trailer & poster unveiled for Sky Original festive famil...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
27/10/2025
Monday 27 October 2025
Sky Business launches Sky Business Mobile - helping UK S...
27/10/2025
Monday 27 October 2025
Sky Sports extends partnership with Baller League UK for season two
Sky Sports and Baller League UK have extended their partnership int...
24/10/2025
One-off special from the team behind BAFTA award-winning Libby, Are You Home Yet...
21/10/2025
Series from Sony Music Vision Features Exclusive Performances From Legendary Bas...
21/10/2025
Tuesday 21 October 2025
Buying a home ranks above becoming a parent as a key rite of passage into adulthood, chosen by almost half of Brits
New research also ...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Download image
Explore the creative universe, enduri...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
14/10/2025
The Sky Original event series - a symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance - al...
13/10/2025
The series from A24 will land in the UK & Ireland in 2026Monday 13 October 2025
...
10/10/2025
Friday 10 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
09/10/2025
coming to Sky and NOW on 19 JanuaryThursday 9 October 2025
To view this content...
08/10/2025
Wednesday 8 October 2025
Sky has exclusively acquired sharp, new US comedy-dram...
02/10/2025
Thursday 2 October 2025
Sky News today announces the highly anticipated relaunc...
01/10/2025
The six-part limited event series, based on Nick Cave's cult novel, launches...
30/09/2025
Tuesday 30 September 2025
This weekend was the most watched in Sky Sports history as 8.8 million viewers tuned in to an unmissable line-up of live entertainmen...
29/09/2025
Monday 29 September 2025
Sky today announces new Italian Sky Original series Gu...
24/09/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
24/09/2025
Wednesday 24 September 2025
Distribution Deal to Bring Global Reporting to Netw...
23/09/2025
Tuesday 23 September 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookie...
23/09/2025
Tuesday 23 September 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookie...
22/09/2025
Monday 22 September 2025
Current slide, 0 0, undefined1
0
Sky Studios Elstree...
19/09/2025
Friday 19 September 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies...
19/09/2025
Fast walking lanes trialled in two major cities for the first time Friday 19 Sep...
18/09/2025
Created by Tom Scharpling, Matt Berry and Natasha Lyonne, the new six-part serie...
18/09/2025
The eight-part sun-drenched thriller from Luther creator Neil Cross launches on ...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
12/09/2025
Friday 12 September 2025
The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday
Sky today ...
03/09/2025
Wednesday 3 September 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
Sky Documentaries, the home of world-class, real-life stories from award-winning and emerging filmmakers, has today launched its first documentary shorts fund in partnership with APX Content Ventures (a centralized global practice within Publicis Media) to champion directors from underrepresented backgrounds. 
