by FilmInk Staff
Screen content financing and development event, 37°South Market, is welcoming applications from producers at reduced early bird rates.
Taking place 6–9 August 2026 during the opening weekend of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) — the Southern Hemisphere’s largest and oldest film festival — the annual event returns for another landmark edition.
Bringing the global screen financing marketplace to Melbourne, 37°South Market invites producers to pitch their script-stage screen projects to potential co-financiers. The four-day event creates a selective environment spanning meaningful one-on-one meetings, roundtables and networking events for industry practitioners to build valuable relationships and explore potential partnerships on a global scale.
MIFF 37°South Market brings together local and international film and TV financiers and decision makers as they meet with producers and creatives from across Australia and New Zealand. Over the years, participating producers have included Nick Batzias (Nitram), Chris Brown (The Railway Man), David Jowsey (Wolfram), Angie Fielder (Lion), David Parker (Malcolm), Leanne Saunders (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Rebecca Summerton (Animals), Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom), Rosemary Blight (The Sapphires), Kristina Ceyton (Talk to Me), Jan Chapman (The Piano), Robert Connolly (Paper Planes, Magic Beach), Marian Macgowan (The Great), Julie Ryan (Red Dog), Tristram Miall (Strictly Ballroom), Sarah Shaw (Snowtown, Relic), Vincent Sheehan (Shayda) and many more.
In the nearly 20 years since its 2007 inception, 37°South Market has powered more than 42,000 meetings. The 2025 edition assembled 448 participants – including 20 publishers, 167 producers, 74 writers/directors/creatives, 56 financiers and buyers, and 28 other IP owners – across more than 3,200 scheduled meetings.
As the only screen content co-financing market in Australia to take place within the context of a major film festival, 37°South Market also features screenings for buyers, modules for publishers and IP owners to pitch screen adaptations to producers, writers pitching screenplays to producers, and panel discussions.
MIFF CEO Damien Hodgkinson said: “37°South Market is a cornerstone of MIFF’s industry program, connecting Australian and New Zealand producers with international financiers and decision-makers. It sparks collaboration, helps move projects toward financing and global audiences, and reinforces Melbourne’s role as a hub for screen innovation and industry connection.”
VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said: “VicScreen’s longstanding partnership with MIFF’s 37°South Market reflects our commitment to positioning Victoria as a leader in screen content. As the nation’s pre-eminent film market, 37°South brings screen storytellers together with key industry decision-makers, driving new creative collaborations and commercial investment.”
The market caters to the multifaceted needs of screen content professionals through a comprehensive suite of tailored programs. Breakthru Screenings offers producers seeking world sales or local distribution with a platform to screen their completed films, while Bridging the Gap is for those with developed, script-stage and pitch-ready projects. Nexus enables intellectual-property rights holders to pitch their creative assets to producers for potential screen adaptations, and State of Play sees a line-up of screen executives and producers unpack the pressing screen-financing issues of the day.
Books at MIFF enables publishers, literary agents, and producers to discuss the latest manuscripts ripe for adaptation, and Link Up fosters conversations and relationships between producers, screen agencies and other industry service providers. Additionally, selected directors, writers and creatives can meet with, and pitch to, selected 37ºSouth registered Australian/NZ producers and development executives through PostScript & Direct, while Team Up enables business connections and creative collaborations between independent producers and larger production partners.
Past domestic and international guests have included the likes of 30West (USA), AGC Studios (USA), Black Label Media (USA), Apple TV+ (USA), BBC (UK), CAA (USA), Charades (Europe), Cornerstone UK/USA), Federation (Europe), FilmNation (USA), HanWay (UK), IFC (USA), Mubi (UK), mk2 (Europe), Neon (USA), Netflix (USA), Paramount (USA), Plan B (USA), Protagonist (UK), Upgrade (USA), Universal Pictures International (UK), WME (USA), ( ABC TV (AUS), Curio (AUS), Foxtel (AUS), Fremantle (ANZ/UK), Kismet/Brouhaha (ANZ), Madman (ANZ), Umbrella (ANZ), Roadshow (ANZ), SBS TV (ANZ), See-Saw (ANZ/UK), Stan (AUS), while participating local publishers have included Allen & Unwin, Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin/Puffin Random House.
Early bird 37°South Market applications are now open via the website, offering successful applicants savings of up to 22% on the full registration fee before the window closes on Monday 13 April.
• 37°South Market runs 6-9 August 2026
• The market is part of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) which takes place 6-23 August for its 74th edition in 2026
• Early bird producer applications can be submitted here and will be available until 13 April
• Second round producer applications are then open until 8 May
• Final round producer applications close 1 June
• PostScript & Direct applications can be submitted here and close on 28 May
• MIFF 37°South Market is an initiative majority-funded by the Victorian Government through VicScreen and organised by the MIFF Industry unit, which also operates the MIFF Premiere Fund and the MIFF Accelerator Lab for emerging directors
• 37ºSouth is the exclusive South Pacific partner of London’s Production Finance Market (PFM)
• More details about 37°South Market, including testimonials from financing guests, producers and publishers, can be found via miffindustry.com/37osouthmarket/
Photo by Tess Flynn
