What we fund
We fund script development, film production, short films, film distribution and export, film education, festivals, skills development, national and regional film agencies.
Script development
Script quality can make or break a film. Our Development Fund provides £4 million a year to support the development of high quality, commercially viable screenplays. Funded screenplays include Brideshead Revisited and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
Film production
We support the production of British feature films through two funds.
The Premiere Fund provides £8 million a year to finance production of popular, mainstream films, for example St. Trinian's,Stormbreaker, Severance, Miss Potter and Becoming Jane.
The New Cinema Fund releases £5 million a year to innovative film-makers, helping to back movies like Red Road, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, This is England and London to Brighton.
Short films
Short films can help new film-makers break into the mainstream. Our New Cinema Fund supports several short film schemes. Finance provided through the scheme has allowed Andrea Arnold (Wasp, Red Road), Duane Hopkins (Love Me or Leave Me, Better Things) and other directors to move from shorts to full features.
Film distribution and export
We want to widen the choice of films shown at UK cinemas. Our Prints and Advertising Fund provides £4 million a year to support the distribution of films that might otherwise not be shown widely, among them, The Curse of the Golden Flower, Volver and Tell No-One.
Our export funding helps to sell and finance the screening of British films around the world.
Cinema
To help make 'going to the pictures' an even better experience we've invested in 240 digital cinema screens across the UK. We also provide improvement grants to independent cinemas.
Film education, culture and archives
We promote knowledge about film through a range of funding schemes, including our , Archive Fund and First Light.
Festivals and audience support schemes
Stimulating greater audience choice is one of our four key aims and supporting film festivals is a great way to do this. We also fund myfilms.com – a useful film information website.
Skills
We provide £6.5 million a year to Skillset to support a national film skills and training strategy.
National and regional film
We provide around £8 million a year to national and regional film bodies, supporting their efforts to build a clear film strategy and provide financial support for a wide range of film related activities.
