BFI Development Funding
BFI (British Film Institute), National Lottery
The main public route for developing a British fiction feature, from treatment through to a screenplay ready to finance.
VariesGrant or repayableany time
Regional fund United Kingdom, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Support for the Individual Artist Programme: Project Funding for Individual Artists
Run by Arts Council of Northern Ireland, National Lottery
Northern Ireland's lottery grant for an individual artist's own project, covering new work, research, time to create, residencies or training. It is not a film fund, but a writer in Northern Ireland can apply alone for time and costs to write, which the screen agency's own schemes rarely allow.
Grant, £62 to £15,000Open to writers in United KingdomA writer alone
Next dates not yet published
That closing date has passed. We check the funder's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
The money
- Amount
- £62 to £15,000The program offers grants between GBP 62 and 15,000; the project funding page itself caps only equipment (GBP 1,200 for a computer) and pays mileage at 25.7p.
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer alone
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- Practicing artists of every discipline, with emerging artists particularly welcome; students and academics may apply with a letter from their department. Film and screenwriting are not named, but no art form is excluded. The page does not spell out a residency test; the Arts Council funds artists in Northern Ireland.
- Stages
- Writing
- Formats
- Any
- Language of the application
- English
Its site names no past recipients or funded projects. It is listed because applying is free.
When to apply
The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. The 2026-27 round closed at noon on July 30, 2026. The next round is not yet published.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| 2026 round closed | Jul 30, 2026 passed |
Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.
What it gives besides money
Advice sessions for d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent applicants through University of Atypical.
Also open to writers in United Kingdom
BFI Doc Society Fund: features development and production
Doc Society for the BFI (British Film Institute), National Lottery
The UK's National Lottery money for feature documentaries, run by Doc Society.
range£150kGrantcloses in 50 days
BFI Filmmaking Fund: Discovery and Impact feature funding
BFI (British Film Institute), National Lottery
Production money for British features in two strands split by budget and by the director's experience.
up to£1.3MGrant or repayablecloses in 45 days
Made of Truth (BFI Doc Society short film fund)
Doc Society for BFI NETWORK (British Film Institute), National Lottery
A yearly grant for short documentaries by UK filmmakers at the start of their careers, in live action or animation.
up to£25kGrantbetween rounds
More writing grants elsewhere
Arts Innovator Award
Artist Trust
Two Washington artists a year receive USD 25,000 for pushing at the edges of their field, with no project report attached.
range$25kGrantbetween rounds
Creative Accelerator Fund
Illinois Arts Council
Illinois pays working artists USD 10,000 by lottery rather than by jury: show an active practice with two work samples and the state lottery draws the winners region by region.
range$10kGrantbetween rounds
Fellowship Awards
Artist Trust
Washington State's merit award for working artists: USD 10,000 with no strings, judged on the body of work rather than a project.
range$10kGrantcloses tomorrow
Grants for Artist Projects (GAP)
Artist Trust
Small, fast and plentiful: 65 Washington artists a year receive USD 2,500 toward a specific project, from research travel to a first draft.
range$2.5kGrantbetween rounds
Also useful
Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.