BFI Filmmaking Fund announces £54million support strategy plans
The British Film Institute’s (BFI) National Lottery Filmmaking Fund has announced plans for four new funds as part of its £54million support strategy for UK movies and talent over a duration of three years.
The £54m, which represents nearly 40% of the BFI’s National Lottery ‘Good Cause’ funding, is divided into £36.6m for production and development funding across three years. This will come via four different funds: ‘Development’ (60-70 projects yearly), ‘Creative Challenge’ (labs and development programmes), ‘Discovery’ (production funding for six directorial debuts yearly) and ‘Impact’ (funding for five projects, for second time and exceeding filmmakers, or debuts budgeted for over £3.5m). Elsewhere, documentaries, shorts, talent development and immersive projects will receive a combined £17.4m for three years.
The £54m comes to around £18m a year. In 2022/2023, the BFI Film Fund’s budget was roughly £25m a year, with funds for pre-production, production and development. The company have stressed that they “have to do more with less”, per Screen Daily.
The announcement of the new funds follows the recent news that three key members of the BFI Film Fund will depart from their roles. These are Editor-at-Large Lizzie Francke, Head of Production Fiona Morham, and Head of Editorial Natascha Wharton, who will all step down later this year.
Changes to how filmmakers are supported by the funds have been informed by the BFI consulting with the industry, evaluating the old strategy and extensive research. The BFI has also committed to supporting projects throughout their entire cycle, including giving guidance on sales and distribution.
Mia Bays, the director of the BFI National Lottery Filmmaking Fund, explained: “In response to evidence, listening to the industry, and building on past achievements, we are setting out a strategy that is re-focused and clear about our ambition: to support projects to have the greatest possible impact with audiences and on the careers of filmmakers, which speak to communities underrepresented in UK film previously.”
Continuing: “We are all navigating a reality, post pandemic, of challenging conditions which require a pragmatic approach. Informed by my own 30-year experience across the sector and working closely with the filmmaking fund team, we are committed to doing as much as we can with the funding available in fair, focused, transparent and mindful ways.”
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