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
New Writer Focus
Run by Northern Ireland Screen
Northern Ireland Screen's only door for an individual writer: up to four first-time feature writers a year join an eight-month development scheme and can then claim a small individual award. A finished first draft is the entry ticket, and no producer is needed.
Grant up to £2,250Open 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
- Up to £2,250Selected writers may apply for an individual writer award; the development page caps script development awards to an individual at GBP 2,250.
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer alone
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- Writers resident in Northern Ireland with no writing credit on a produced feature film, applying alone or as a team of two, with at least a completed first draft and a one-page synopsis. Feature scripts only; no TV drama or comedy. One project per writer, and not open to past participants.
- Stages
- Writing and development
- Formats
- Feature
- 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. The 2026 call is closed; selected scripts are developed from September 2026 to April 2027. The 2027 call is not yet published.
What it gives besides money
A monthly writers room, individual project and writer development, seminars and networking over the eight months.
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.