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, Cardiff, Wales
Feature Film Production
Run by Ffilm Cymru Wales, National Lottery via Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government via Creative Wales
Production investment for Welsh-led features heading for cinemas, normally capped at half the budget. The writer's script must be at draft stage and the company must show the rest of the money is within reach. Expressions of interest are read first, then full applications timed to board meetings.
Investment, up to £600,000Open to writers in United KingdomA production company
Board meeting Nov 4, 2026 (closes in 3 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
- Up to £600,000Up to GBP 600,000, most awards between GBP 150,000 and 400,000, and normally no more than half the budget.
- What it is
- InvestmentThe fund takes a share of the film and recoups from its earnings.
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A production company
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- A producer-led company that is UK-registered and run from the UK, with Wales-born or Wales-based talent as lead writer, producer or director, a single cinema feature or documentary, and a credible plan to close the finance within six months.
- Stages
- Production
- Formats
- Feature, Documentary, Animation
- Language of the application
- English, Welsh
Its site names no past recipients or funded projects. It is listed because applying is free.
When to apply
The next closing date is Nov 4, 2026. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them. No strict deadlines; requests of GBP 50,000 or more go to the next board meeting (May 27, September 2 and November 4, 2026; February 2027 to be confirmed). An expression of interest comes first.
| Round | Closes |
|---|---|
| Board meeting | Nov 4, 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 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.