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, Glasgow, Scotland
Film Development and Production Fund
Run by Screen Scotland (Creative Scotland), National Lottery and Scottish Government
Scotland's main film fund, in two routes. A screenwriter living in Scotland with one produced feature behind them can apply for development money alone, which few national funds allow; a first-time writer needs a producer. The development loan is only repaid if the film goes into production.
Grant or repayable, £3,000 to £500,000Open to writers in United KingdomA writer alone or a production company
Applications taken any time
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 £500,000Single Project Development awards of GBP 3,000 to 50,000, repaid on the first day of principal photography if the film is made (and ring-fenced in a locked box for Scotland-based producers). Production awards usually GBP 100,000 to 500,000, with a share of rights and recoupment.
- What it is
- Grant or repayable
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer alone or a production company
- Where you write
- In United Kingdom
- Rules
- Development takes applications from producers based in Scotland, from producers elsewhere working with Scottish writing or directing talent, and from individual screenwriters based in Scotland who have had a feature screenplay produced and released. Production requires an experienced producer, a director, a finished screenplay and a casting plan.
- Stages
- Development and production
- Formats
- Feature, Documentary, Animation
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
Applications are taken at any time; decisions follow in the fund's own rhythm. No deadlines; development decisions take up to six weeks, production up to ten. Apply to the BFI Diversity Standards pilot on the BFI portal first.
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 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.