The Short Film and Early Development funding pots have reopened for a six-week window from Monday 26 April 2021 – and will close on Monday 7 June 2021 (5PM). This is the first of two six-week application windows for 2021, the next coming the Autumn of this year.

The BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund supports projects with directors based in England, delivered by the local Talent Executives who work directly with the selected funded projects in their region. 

Have an idea you’d like to see on screen? We want to hear it.

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For those of you wondering which fund is right for you – read our quick guide below: 

• Short Film Funding

If you are a director* based in the South West you can now apply for up to £15,000 funding for the production costs of fiction short films – in both live-action and animation – of up to 15 minutes in length. Directors must not have directed a fiction feature previously distributed in the UK.  

Please note that we have made some changes to the way that we manage and assess applications so please read the new guidelines carefully. 

 *Producers or writers attached to the project can be based anywhere in the UK

To find out more, head to the BFI NETWORK’s Short Film Fund page.

• Early Development Funding

The Early Development Funding is ideal for writers and writer/directors based in the South West who are at the very beginning of developing a feature. 

This scheme offers up to a maximum of £1,000, as a fee and support for research to write a treatment for exciting and bold projects.

Early Development Funding is for more established writers, who have had a short film previously produced or a comparable work in another creative medium. 

If your project has a producer attached and you feel ready to seek first draft funding, you should look at the BFI Development Fund or alternative sources of support that might suit you better than this one. 

To find out more, head to the BFI NETWORK’s Early Development Fund page.