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Get your Film Pitch Ready – Or Know Why It Isn’t
An intensive, workshop-led week to develop, challenge and refine your project - timed to prepare you for industry moments including the Edinburgh Pitch and Sheffield DocFest.
Work closely with experienced practitioners to pressure-test your idea across story, structure, feasibility and pitch - leaving with clarity on whether you’re ready to pitch or not and how to pitch when you are.
Ideal for feature and long-form documentary projects.
Not every project should be pitched straight away. Timing and readiness can make or break a project. Pitch too early and missing key elements commissioning editors, buyers and funding bodies are looking for and you risk closing doors. Wait too long, and you miss opportunities.
This five-day practical workshop sprint helps you progress your project while understanding where your film is really at, what it needs next, preparing you to lead with your project and contributor's best interests at heart.
You will actively develop your idea in an environment where you can pressure-test it against the realities of the industry or protect it from being unleashed too soon.
Across five focused days, you’ll move through every key stage of documentary development:
- Clarifying your core idea and point of view
- Building a strong narrative and treatment
- Testing access, ethics, and feasibility
- Defining your visual approach
- Developing and rehearsing your pitch
You’ll be supported by a team of experienced industry professionals, with space to reflect, refine, and challenge your project at every stage.
By the end of the week, you’ll have:
- A clearer understanding of your project’s strengths and gaps
- A developed logline and treatment
- A draft pitch deck and visual direction
- Experience pitching and responding to feedback
- A confident sense of your next step - whether that’s pitching now or developing further
There are no formal entry requirements for this course but you will most likely be an active documentary maker and will benefit from having made either short form films, programmes or features before.
The course is aimed at:
- Documentary filmmakers in early development
- Directors and producers preparing for upcoming pitch opportunities
- Creatives who want to test their project among peers before stepping into the industry environment
Before the course, selected participants will be required to submit a short summary of the project they plan to develop with appropriate content warnings included for sensitive content.
Bursaries, supported by Screen Scotland, to contribute to the costs of attending this course may be available to those who are eligible. Please read the bursary guidelines which are published below first to check if you are eligible. If you are eligible, please indicate if you are also applying for a bursary or not.
Please apply as far in advance of the course date as possible to give yourself the best chance of securing a supported place, as we may not be able to accommodate all applications.
Your bursary application and supporting documents should be sent to scotland@nfts.co.uk after submitting this application form. Please submit your bursary application within 24 hours to ensure your course place is reserved while your bursary application is processed – otherwise we may be required to release it to another applicant. Your bursary documents are reviewed by a panel and we aim to be in touch as soon as possible with an outcome for you.
NFTS Scotland Bursary Guidelines
NFTS Scotland Bursary Application Form
If you are not eligible for an NFTS Scotland bursary, please read our Alternative Funding Avenues document, which points you in the direction of a few other places which may be able to help. Please submit your application in plenty of time as timescales for funders differ.
To apply, please complete the application form along with your CV/Filmography
Bursaries, supported by Screen Scotland, are available for those who are eligible. Please read the bursary guidelines in Fees and Funding and submit your application as soon as possible to secure your supported place.