Scottish Documentary Institute Consultancies

Overview

The Scottish Documentary Institute (SDI) offers free one-to-one advisory sessions for documentary filmmakers based in Scotland. Founded in 2004 and based at Edinburgh College of Art, SDI is a documentary-focused organization funded by Creative Scotland that provides training, production support, and distribution assistance to Scottish filmmakers. The consultancies program gives filmmakers direct access to SDI's team of experienced documentary professionals and seasoned industry practitioners from around the world.

This is not a cash grant. The value is expert advice: filmmakers receive personalized editorial and strategic feedback on their projects without a competitive application process. Sessions are delivered as short online meetings, scheduled approximately every month and a half throughout the year. The next scheduled session date is Thursday 28 May 2026.

What the Consultancies Provide

Each consultancy is a focused one-on-one online session with an SDI advisor or an industry practitioner from SDI's network. Filmmakers can bring projects at any stage: development, production, or distribution. Both shorts and features are eligible for discussion.

Advisors offer feedback on:

• Editorial approach and narrative structure: How the story is shaped, what is working, what needs rethinking
• Access and research strategy: Approaches to securing subjects, building trust, and conducting background research
• Development materials: Treatments, pitch documents, trailers, and sizzle reels
• Financing strategy: Which funds to target, in what order, and how to structure a financing stack
• Distribution and festival strategy: How to position the project for international markets, which festivals to target, and what sales agents or distributors to approach

SDI may also facilitate introductions to industry contacts who can help advance a project, or in some cases form a direct collaboration.

Eligibility

The consultancies are open to documentary filmmakers based in Scotland at any career stage. SDI's primary mandate is to support Scottish-based filmmakers. Scottish residents are given priority for booking sessions.

To ensure fair access, SDI requests that filmmakers who have had a consultancy in the previous three months allow others to book before returning.

A separate bursary fund, historically funded by Creative Scotland Lottery funding, has been available to Scottish residents to support participation in SDI programs. Filmmakers should check the SDI website for current bursary availability.

SDI's Broader Programs

Beyond the consultancies, SDI operates several programs that filmmakers who use the advisory service may be directed toward:

• Bridging the Gap: An annual filmmaking initiative for Scotland-based documentary filmmakers
• Edinburgh Pitch: A pitch forum held annually (next edition 15 June 2026) where selected projects pitch to international decision-makers
• New Voices: A mentoring program for emerging documentary talent
• Write Now Fund: Grants of up to 3,000 GBP for Scotland-based documentary directors in the early development and writing phase of their first or second feature-length documentary. Applications for the most recent cycle closed in November 2025, with online information sessions held in October 2025
• Docscene project pool: Year-round submissions of Scottish documentary projects in development (shorts and features), which are steered toward training programs, funding opportunities, or pitching forums

Some of these programs are restricted to Scottish-based filmmakers, while others have broader eligibility. The consultancy session is a practical first step for any Scottish documentary filmmaker to get oriented within SDI's ecosystem and identify which programs fit their project.

How to Book

Consultancies are booked directly through the SDI website. Filmmakers select the area where they need support and secure a session with an SDI team member. Session days occur approximately every six weeks throughout the year.

SDI also hosts regular "Coffee Morning" online events where team members (including Noe Mendelle, Sonja Henrici, and Alexandra Colta) discuss SDI opportunities and answer questions. These are a good starting point for filmmakers new to SDI who want to understand the organization before booking a one-on-one session.

Who Should Apply

Documentary filmmakers based in Scotland at any career stage who want expert editorial and strategic feedback on their project without the pressure of a competitive application. The consultancy program is particularly valuable for:

• Filmmakers deciding how to develop a project and which funds to pursue
• Filmmakers facing a difficult production or distribution challenge who need outside perspective
• Early-career filmmakers who want to understand the Scottish and UK documentary funding landscape
• Filmmakers preparing to pitch at Edinburgh Pitch or apply to the Write Now Fund

Filmmakers outside Scotland should note that SDI's core programs are Scotland-focused. International filmmakers may find limited access to the consultancy program and should check the SDI website for current eligibility before booking.

Past Recipients and What They Made with the Money

The consultancies are not a cash grant, but filmmakers who used the advisory service have gone on to produce award-winning work through SDI's broader programs. Several consultancy participants moved into Bridging the Gap, SDI's flagship commissioning program, and achieved significant festival success:

• *Mining Poems or Odes* (Callum Rice, 2015): Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. Selected for Sundance Film Festival 2016. Won Best Short at BAFTA Scotland 2015 and the Grand Jury Prize at Heartland Film Festival 2016. The film follows a former shipyard welder in Govan who discovers poetry.
• *The Third Dad* (Theresa Moerman Ib, 2015): Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. Won Best Factual at BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards 2016 and Best UK Short at East End Film Festival 2016. A personal journey about finding an estranged father's grave.
• *Pouters* (Paul Fegan, 2012): Won the Scottish Short Film Award at Glasgow Short Film Festival 2013 and the Audience Award at Hamburg International Short Film Festival 2013. The film documents the underground Scottish sport of doo fleein (pigeon flying) in Cranhill, Glasgow.
• *A Long Winter* (Eilidh Munro, 2022): A BAFTA Scotland-winning film commissioned by Screen Scotland through Bridging the Gap. Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film follows a man in the Scottish Highlands who plants trees and hunts deer to restore the landscape.
• *Fitting* (Caitlin McMullan, 2023): Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023. Selected for DOC NYC 2023 and Cucalorus Film Festival 2023. The film explores the relationship between an amputee filmmaker and her prosthetist.
• *Crannog* (Isa Rao, 2018): Featured on The Atlantic. The film follows a woman who provides palliative care for terminally ill animals at her sanctuary in northern Scotland.

Typical Award Size Range

The consultancies are a free service with no cash award. The value is expert advisory time: a focused one-on-one online session with an SDI advisor or industry practitioner.

Filmmakers who progress from a consultancy into SDI's commissioning programs can access actual production funding. Bridging the Gap commissions up to 4 films per year with full production budgets and distribution support. The Write Now Fund offers grants of up to 3,000 GBP for early-stage documentary development.

What Makes an Application Competitive

The consultancies do not have a competitive application process. Sessions are booked on a first-come basis through the SDI website. However, filmmakers can maximize the value of their session by preparing effectively:

• Bring a project at the right stage: Sessions work best when the filmmaker has a concrete project with some development materials (treatment, trailer, or sizzle reel) rather than just a concept.
• Identify your specific need: The booking form asks filmmakers to select the area where they need support. A clear, specific question (financing strategy, distribution plan, narrative structure) produces more useful feedback than a general request for advice.
• Be Scotland-based: SDI's primary mandate is to support Scottish-based filmmakers. Scottish residents are given priority for booking sessions.
• Respect the three-month rule: Filmmakers who have had a consultancy in the previous three months should allow others to book before returning. This ensures fair access.
• Prepare development materials: Bring a treatment, pitch document, trailer, or sizzle reel. Advisors can give more targeted feedback when they can see the project's current form.

Watch

See Also

For documentary filmmakers in the UK building a financing strategy, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack. For understanding international documentary markets and distribution, see Distribution Deals: What Filmmakers Need to Know. For planning a documentary production timeline once your project is ready to move from development to production, use the Production Schedule Calculator.