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
National fund United Kingdom, London
BFI Doc Society Fund: features development and production
Run by Doc Society for the BFI (British Film Institute), National Lottery
The UK's National Lottery money for feature documentaries, run by Doc Society. Development pays for finding contributors, testing a method or cutting a teaser; production grants reach six figures and are never recouped. The producer signs, but the director's authorship is what the fund is weighing.
Grant, £25,000 to £150,000Open to writers in United KingdomA writer with a producer or a production company
Next deadline Dec 21, 2026 (closes in 50 days)
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
- £25,000 to £150,000Development grants of GBP 25,000 to 40,000; production grants up to GBP 150,000; the fund's total contribution to one project is capped at GBP 150,000. All non-recoupable.
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer with a producer or a production company
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- Producers apply for director-led non-fiction features by UK filmmakers, intended for cinemas. Debut and experienced directors are both eligible; production has a Directions strand for first and second features and a Momentum strand for established talent. A project has to serve three or more of the fund's six aims.
- Stages
- Development and production
- Formats
- Documentary
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The next closing date is Dec 21, 2026. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them. Development opens twice a year; round 2 opens November 9 and closes at 1pm on December 21, 2026. Production is a rolling fund, open since May 7, 2026 until summer 2028, with an expression of interest first.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| Development round 2 closes | Dec 21, 2026 |
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
Access support through TAPE for applicants who need it, and a fortnightly open call with the fund team.
Also open to writers in United Kingdom
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
UK Global Screen Fund: International Co-production
BFI (British Film Institute) for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Government money, administered by the BFI, for UK companies joining international co-productions as the smaller partner.
up to£300kGrantcloses in 23 days
More development funding elsewhere
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
Incubator Fund
ITVS, Independent Television Service
ITVS's development door, replacing its earlier diversity development fund: a small first payment to shape a nonfiction feature or web series for PBS streaming, with a few months of…
up to$10kGrantpaused
Public Media Content Fund
Latino Public Broadcasting
Documentaries and limited series about Latino life for national public television, funded from first research through the final mix.
range$100kInvestmentbetween rounds
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grants at Film Independent
Film Independent, with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Science on screen pays here: three cash grants a year for fiction projects about scientists or technology, awarded inside Film Independent's Episodic Lab, Producing Lab and Fast Track…
range$30kGrantbetween 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.