New fund announced, supporting stories of displacement, migration and climate

Counterpoints Arts, a leading UK organisation supporting refugees and migrants, has partnered with Climate Spring, a global organisation dedicated to transforming how the climate crisis is represented in film, TV and popular culture. Together, they are offering investment and support for feature films and TV projects that explore how climate change drives displacement and migration.

The collaboration will provide early stage development funding for  production companies and creators, with a particular interest in partnerships between experienced producers and writing talent from historically marginalised backgrounds.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.

With this in mind, 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 — i.e. children of refugees or migrants.

“People who bring lived experience of displacement to the table do not only have ‘heart-breaking’ tales to tell. 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,” says Ornella Mutoni, Counterpoints Arts.

“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”, says Josh Cockcroft, Director of Impact & Research at Climate Spring

Examples of invited pitches include stories that explore how environmental changes are reshaping borders, communities, and futures; stories that connect geopolitical conflict, resource extraction, and human movement;  narratives that showcase how displaced communities are not just surviving but reconnecting with or creating new cultural and ecological futures; and migrant joy and resilience, stories that go beyond trauma and embrace humour, love, and radical joy amidst upheaval.

Counterpoints Arts is a leading UK organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change. The organisation supports arts by and about refugees and migrants and produces a range of programmes in the UK and internationally, including Refugee Week, PopChange and Platforma festival.

Climate Spring is a global organisation dedicated to transforming how the climate crisis is represented in film, TV, mainstream entertainment and popular culture. Climate Spring 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 50+ film and TV projects, in a range of genres from crime to thriller to romantic comedy.

This is the first collaboration between the two organisations, and interested companies and creators should get in touch with Climate Spring at enquiries@climate-spring.org.

IMAGE: Matar, by Hassan Akkad, a story film made using Counterpoints Arts PopChange consultancy