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, England
BFI NETWORK England: Early Development Fund
Run by BFI NETWORK (British Film Institute), National Lottery
One of very few British public grants a writer can hold alone, paid to write a treatment for a debut feature before any script exists. Around twenty awards are expected from up to a thousand applications, and a treatment delivered on time can lead to a second award for the first draft.
Grant, £3,000 to £5,000Open to writers in United KingdomA writer alone or a writer with a producer
2026 round closes Nov 11, 2026 (closes in 10 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
- £3,000 to £5,000Stage one pays GBP 3,000 to 5,000 to write a treatment; projects delivered on time can then apply for a second stage to write a first draft, whose amount the page does not state.
- 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
- England-based writers with no feature or immersive work yet produced and released through a UK distribution deal. A producer is optional. The project must be a long-form fiction idea, live action, animation or immersive, with no first draft written yet. Writers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland go through their national screen agencies instead.
- Stages
- Writing
- Formats
- Feature, Animation
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The next closing date is Nov 11, 2026. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them. The 2026 round opened October 7 and closes November 11, 2026; decisions by February 10, 2027.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| 2026 round closes | Nov 11, 2026 |
Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.
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.