BFI NETWORK England Short Film Funding

Support of up to £25,000 is available for production costs on fiction shorts across live action, animation and immersive/virtual reality. BFI NETWORK England short film funding supports filmmaking teams based in the North who are working on fiction shorts in live action, animation and immersive/virtual reality.

Short Film Funding 

Funding for production costs on shorts of up to fifteen minutes

Up to £25,000 for production costs

Supporting shorts up to 15mins

Dates and deadlines:

Applications open: 3 April 2023

Applications close: 23 May 2023, midday

BFI NETWORK England short film funding supports filmmaking teams based in the North who are working on fiction shorts in live action, animation and  immersive/virtual reality. 

This fund supports the production costs of standalone fiction shorts that showcase new perspectives from Northern filmmaking teams. The fund is intended to stimulate original idea and stories, so it doesn’t support adaptations of existing material. We welcome applications for amounts from £5,000 up to a maximum of £25,000. Projects can be of any length, up to a maximum of 15 minutes.

Our funding is supplemented by creative oversight from our BFI NETWORK Talent Executives. As well as working with filmmakers prior to and during production, our team can advise supported projects on:

• Finding screening opportunities regionally and further afield
• Ways to meet potential collaborators for your project
• Festival strategy for your project
• Other ways to gain industry exposure for your work

Applications for the 2023 funding round open on Monday 3 April and close at midday on Tuesday 23 May.

Read the guidelines

After reading the guidelines, you'll be prompted to submit your application via the BFI’s grant request form. You will need to create an account to make your application online. You can save your application and return to it later. Make sure you complete all the required sections as incomplete forms will automatically be deemed ineligible.

Further support

If you have any queries about the fund, take a look at the BFI NETWORK FAQs, or contact out team: bfinetwork@filmhubnorth.org.uk.

If you have access requirements that mean you need assistance when applying for funds, you can request help through the BFI Access Support Scheme. 

If you’re a filmmaker working outside of England, visit the BFI NETWORK funding finder to learn about funding opportunities in your area. 

If you're a filmmaker working in documentary, check out the supported offered by Doc Society.