We have some amazing talent that can take the next step and we wanted to do our best to help them. Because women support and champion other women, our first priority was to establish a new mentoring and development programme where some of Scotland’s best female filmmakers could pass on their knowledge to emerging talent. In response to this, The New Voices Talent Development programme was launched in July 2020 and a second edition ran in October 2021. The programme has been very successful in building the confidence, contacts and industry knowledge of our female documentary filmmakers. Some of the outcomes for the 19 New Voices participants include: 

• 12 meetings lined up with commissioners and funders
• 5 directors going on to have successful funding bids
• 9 directors received a new short film or TV commission 
• 8 directors went on to develop a new feature length project 
• 7 directors received award nominations or wins 
• 4 directors went on to be accepted on to other high profile training opportunities 

In April 2021, the Women Direct(ory) was also established, with the aim to build a talent pool of Scotland's female identifying documentary filmmakers of all disciplines and levels of experience seeking paid work. The self-generated, open access database continues to grow with 150 members currently signed up, providing the opportunity for peer-to-peer connection and to raise the visibility of female talent in the sector to broadcasters, funders and commissioners. Upon its launch, documentary filmmaker Hannah Currie wrote about the importance and objectives of the Women Direct(ory). Read the full article on the Women in Film and Television website.

In 2021, the campaign saw the launch of a women-only Doc Film Club in partnership with Audacious Women Festival. This initiative provided a safe space to gather, showcase new Scottish documentaries by women and for peer connection with other female filmmakers and nonfiction enthusiasts. During Autumn of 2021 (and still in Covid-era), three separate events were held online and in-person events in Inverness and Edinburgh followed as part of Phenomenal Women.

We committed to a targeted and co-ordinated PR and marketing campaign with the view to address industry bias, and raise the profile of Scottish Documentary makers across the world. Our campaign toolbox includes a standalone website with a regularly updated news and events page, a powerful campaign video featuring testimonies from women directors, strong communications strategies and digital assets for social media presence via Scottish Documentary institute (#MoreWomenDirectors #MakeWomenVisible, #OurStoriesTold, #SDI5050). 

Access to funding was an important factor for the campaign. Unpredictable income and low film budgets stop women training, meeting caring costs and getting their films made. In 2022, Screen Scotland adopted the BFIs Diversity Standards for all applications to their development and production funding and the aims of the campaign are also embedded in the Scottish Documentary Institute’s wider year round programmes. Our WRITE NOW fund launched in 2023 offering grants up to £3,000 and tailored support for the crucial early development and writing phase of a director’s first or second feature-length documentary. 80% of filmmakers supported were women or marginalised gender.