I SEE is a 12 week story Lab fast tracking SIX SELECTED PROJECTS + filmmakers to achieve a specific documentary project goal. Irrespective of where you are on your film journey, the lab can help you get to the next level. The 12 week course culminates in three projects being invited to pitch for a $20k award.

In 2026 there will be two I SEE LABS. LAB O1 // april may JUNE & LAB 02 // SEPT OCT NOV. APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN 8 WEEKS PRIOR TO EACH LAB.

1.     REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

2.     ATTEND AN ONLINE INFO SESSION (Dates to be announced)

3.     UNDERSTAND THE AIMS OF THE LAB

4.     APPLY FROM ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET WITH A PROJECT GOAL + A ONE PAGE PITCH + A 2 MIN VID

5.     YOU WILL NEED TO PAY AN APPLICATION FEE ($50USD) OR INDICATE WHY YOU ARE UNABLE TO PAY

6.     IF SELECTED, YOU’LL SHARE YOUR GOAL WITH THE GROUP

7.     BECOME AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY FOR ANOTHER PARTICIPANT

8.     Every Saturday you’ll receive an email with a TASK;

9.     If you chose to undertake the task, you’ll receive feedback from your mentor;

10.  Once a month, we’ll have a group catch up pitch session;

11.  Over the 12 weeks, you’ll have 2 x 1:1 with your mentor;

12.  From each Story Lab, 3 projects will be selected to pitch in week 12;

13.  One project will receive the STORY LAB DEVELOPMENT AWARD of AUD$20k

14.  ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BECOME LIFE LONG I SEE DOCO LAB ALUMS

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Individuals and teams of up to three people can apply.

There is no cost to participate. However, the community we aim to build will be based on shared common values of kindness and the universality of human experience, so to participate, there will be certain obligations you will need to meet.

As the course is free to all participants, there will be a couple of simple obligations –

1. OPEN ACCOUNTABILITY AND HELPING OTHERS via shared goals. WhatsApp will be our source of connection on a day to day – you’re encouraged to share ideas and articles, positive thoughts and creative solutions.

2. SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE with the world via weekly social media posts; and,

3. Following the WEEK 12 Pitch Session - If you are fortunate to be awarded the I SEE STORY LAB DEVELOPMENT AWARD, you will be required to report on your success.

4. We hope to see participants from each lab become part of an ongoing alumnae support and think tank. 

The film industry is one great big competition with one huge reality – to do anything, to make anything, you will need money.

As part of each I SEE DOCO LAB, three of the six projects will be invited to pitch and explain to our selection panel what they would do with, and why they would benefit from the $20kAUD Development Award.

This is a competitive pitch and the winner will be selected at the complete discretion of the I SEE STORY LAB team and or guest panel members.

The winner will be advised in the week following the Pitch Session and will be required to submit a goal report.

To be as accessible as possible and to build a truly global community, I SEE DOCO LAB is conducted 100% online. This means you will need a solid internet connection with good sound to be able to participate.

Yes. Currently online course notes, pitch sessions and assessments are conducted in English. It is very much our hope to be able to expand into other language groups.

Yep, you will. This is a reality of working in creative industries - the need to share and protect intellectual property. Following each information session, participants will be sent an Application Pack. This will include I SEE DOCO LAB Terms and Conditions.

The I SEE DOCO LAB is the brainchild of me, SAL BALHARRIE. I am a Writer, Creative Producer and Documentary Director. After the recent success of my feature film LIKE MY BROTHER and with experiencing in making films and building relationships in remote communities, I truly believe in the power of story telling as a tool to bring us closer together – highlighting what connects us rather than divides.

The greatest frustrations I experience as a story teller come from moments when people are deliberately siloed, deliberately unkind, small minded and arrogant.

Via I SEE, I see an opportunity to not only give back to the industry I adore, but to build a community of like-minded creatives.

Via the making of LIKE MY BROTHER, I met Collis Ta’eed.

Collis is an exceptional human – a true entrepreneur, generous, expansive and committed to supporting human endeavours in a world excited by tech.

I am thrilled that someone such as Collis sees the wonder and shares the vision that is creating the I SEE DOCO LAB global community.