EXCLUSIVE: Counterpoints Arts, the UK-based organization behind events like Refugee Week and Platforma festival, has teamed with advocacy group Climate Spring to launch a development fund for feature films and TV projects that explore how climate change drives displacement and migration.
The fund will provide early-stage development cash for production companies and creators, with a particular interest in partnerships between experienced producers and writing talent from historically marginalised backgrounds. The two companies have said the aim is to support stories that go beyond testimonial narratives, presenting displaced and migrant people with agency and shifting the narrative away from victimhood and passive representation.
The fund will prioritise scripted, genre-based storytelling, from romantic comedies to science fiction, thrillers, comedy, and fantasy. The fund will also support projects that explore the lived experience of second-generation individuals, such as the children of refugees or migrants.
“People who bring lived experience of displacement to the table do not only have ‘heart-breaking’ tales to tell,” Ornella Mutoni of Counterpoints Arts said in a statement. “With this in mind, we want to support the development of a spectrum of stories at the intersection of refugee and migrant experiences and climate, reflecting the full complexities of modern life.”
Examples of pitches invited for the fund include stories that explore how environmental changes are reshaping borders, communities, and futures, or stories that connect geopolitical conflict, resource extraction, and human movement.
Josh Cockcroft, Director of Impact and Research at Climate Spring, added: “The climate crisis is a story of human movement, resilience, and transformation. We are excited to support projects that reject stereotypes and instead elevate migrant perspectives with bold, genre-driven narratives – stories that are funny, thrilling, romantic or speculative, but always rooted in truth and agency.”
Counterpoints Arts is the UK-based organisation behind Refugee Week, PopChange, and Platforma festival. Climate Spring is a global organisation focused on changing how the climate crisis is represented in film, TV, mainstream entertainment, and wider popular culture. The company offers early-stage development funding for scripted and unscripted content; editorial consulting on the climate elements of film and TV projects for writers, commissioners, and producers; training and writers’ development opportunities; and support in moving a project from idea to distribution. Climate Spring is currently funding and co-financing development, supporting and consulting on over 50 film and TV projects.
