BBC Northern Ireland will commission short films of nine minutes in duration for series 7 of Northern Lights.

BBC Northern Ireland will put up £30, 000 towards each film. Third party funding is assumed bringing the budget up to a maximum of £60,000 for each film.

The films must be Live Action and are to be shot on Super 16mm or 35mm and delivered on 35mm and Digibeta, and must be filmed in Northern Ireland. All submissions must include a full script, a budget, proposed schedule and CVs of the Producer, Director and Writer, plus an indication of the probable Heads of Department and a short pitching document outlining the Director's vision for the piece. It will be necessary for Producers to have a good understanding of the ACNI Lottery criteria for funding short films.

The scheme was set up to promote Northern Irish Talent and, for the most part, the BBC would prefer that the writer, director, and producer team where from Northern Ireland. They would also like this scheme to give those established in the industry the opportunity to shift roles - for example a writer could have the opportunity to direct a short film.

For further information contact Stephen Wright on Tel: (028) 9033 8105. (CD)
The deadline for submissions is October 1 2001.