The British Film Institute has revealed new plans to support the UK’s independent sector with four focused film funds.
Operating under the newly launched BFI National Lottery Film Fund (finance comes directly from the UK’s National Lottery), the new structure will help £36.6 million ($44.8 million) dollars) for the production and development of feature films through four separate funds. three years. Meanwhile, £17.4 million ($21.3 million) is also set aside to support documentaries, short films, talent development and immersive filmmaking.
Much of the production and development support for the features — $36 million — will be available through the BFI Discovery Fund for Director’s Debuts, to support six features with budgets under $3, £5 million ($4.3 million) per year, and the BFI Impact Fund, which will aim to provide production funding for five projects per year, from second-time filmmakers or more, or The launch project cost more than £3.5 million ($4.3 million). The Impact Fund, whose criteria are focused on the size and/or intensity of the impact they are seeking to make, will also target underrepresentation in creative leadership with the BFI. work with selected projects so that they offer meaningful opportunities to enhance skills, mentorship, and obfuscate production.
Meanwhile, the $5.5 million BFI Development Fund will remain flexible and broad in terms of costs it will cover at all stages of development and aims to support approximately 60-70 projects. sentence each year. However, acknowledging the difficulties manufacturers face early in their careers, they can now claim advanced cost support along with their fees in the development budget. Additional project development support will be available through $3.3 million The BFI National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund, the fourth new fund to open in late 2023, will fund development labs and programs to decentralize project development and ensure UK-wide support is accessible.
Mia Bays, who joined the BFI as head of the film fund in 2021, said: “The UK has world-class independent filmmakers and the Film Foundation launched today consistently. determined to find ways to support them and nurture the people who will shape the future of this country. “In response to the evidence, listening to the industry, and building on past achievements, we are laying out a focused and clear strategy of ambition to support projects with the greatest impact possible. with audiences and filmmakers’ careers, speaking to previously under-represented communities in UK film. We are all navigating a reality, post-pandemic, with challenging conditions that require a pragmatic approach. Informed by my 30 years of experience in the field and working closely with the filmmaking fund team, we are committed to doing the best we can with available funding in ways that are fair, focused, transparent, and transparent. transparency and fairness.”
The newly announced funding strategy comes amid structural changes in BFI am’s sponsorship arm, as Lizzie Francke, editor-in-chief, Fiona Morham, head of production, and Natascha Wharton, chief editor, will leaving BFI at the end of this year to pursue their own business ventures. The new Film Foundation team is comprised of senior production executives who have joined in the past year.
