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
Made of Truth (BFI Doc Society short film fund)
Run by 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. Unusually for public money, a director can apply without a producer and attach one later. Thirteen films at most are funded each year.
Grant up to £25,000Open to writers in United KingdomA writer alone or a writer with a producer
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
- Up to £25,000Up to GBP 25,000 per short documentary of 5 to 40 minutes; up to 13 films a year.
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer alone or a writer with a producer
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- Early career producers and directors who are UK residents, with a crew that is largely early career too. The director must not have had a commercial distribution deal for a non-fiction feature in the past five years. A director without a producer may apply and has two months after an offer to find one.
- Stages
- Production
- Formats
- Short, Documentary, Animation
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. Opens once a year. The 2026 round ran from May 18 to July 1, 2026; the page says the next opening is spring 2027.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| 2026 round closed | Jul 1, 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
Help finding a producer after an offer, access support through TAPE, and a fortnightly open call with the fund team.
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
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 production funding elsewhere
AFS Grant
Austin Film Society
Texas filmmakers have their own state fund: cash for features and shorts in production or post, with camera and finishing packages on top.
up to$20kGrantbetween rounds
Minnesota Film Production Grant
Jerome Foundation
The Minnesota twin of Jerome's New York City grant: up to USD 30,000 of production money for early career directors who take creative risks, applied for in two steps each fall.
up to$30kGrantcloses in 23 days
New York City Film Production Grant
Jerome Foundation
A production grant for New York City directors near the start of their careers, in any moving-image form from animation to documentary.
up to$30kGrantcloses in 23 days
BPM Open Call
Black Public Media
Public television's fund for Black nonfiction stories runs one call a year: five projects get USD 20,000 and a place at PitchBLACK, where one leaves with up to USD 150,000 of production…
range$150kInvestmentbetween 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.