Currently 9 active film and video grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the UK. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The UAL AKO Storytelling Institute, with the Power of Pop Fund, is recruiting six Storytelling Research Fellows to run independent research projects on how storytelling in popular culture shapes attitudes, behaviour and public discourse. Fellows work across media including television, film, gaming, podcasts and digital culture, are supported by the Institute's Head of Research and a peer cohort, and produce actionable findings for creative practitioners, funders and social-impact organisations, presented at a closing public symposium. ELIGIBILITY: experienced researchers with a PhD or equivalent research expertise gained academically, independently or through professional practice, with a track record of delivering high-quality research and working with external partners. Practice-based and non-academic researchers are explicitly in scope. APPLICATION: CV, record of publications, a research proposal of 1,000 to 1,200 words, and a supporting statement including at least one example of a research project you designed and delivered. Applications via the UAL jobs portal; closes 11 September 2026.
The Creative Challenge Fund does not fund films directly. It funds the organisations that run project-development programmes for UK creatives working on narrative, documentary or animation features, or on narrative immersive media projects. The BFI's stated aim is to decentralise development away from a small number of London-centric gatekeepers and build a wider, more resilient ecosystem of talent-development providers across the UK, with a recently added emphasis on independent producers. ELIGIBILITY: only legally constituted UK-based organisations may apply. Individual filmmakers seeking development money should look to the BFI Filmmaking Fund's Development strand instead. TIMING: Round One closed in March 2026 and has made its first awards. Round Two closes Monday 21 September 2026, with funded programme activity required to begin between 1 January and 30 June 2027. NOTE: award amounts are not published on the fund page. Successful applicants must prominently credit BFI National Lottery support.
The 17th Open City Documentary Festival takes place at venues across London in April 2027, presenting international contemporary and retrospective non-fiction film, audio and cross-media work alongside filmmaker Q&As, panels, talks and workshops. The festival nurtures experimentation within the expanded field of non-fiction cinema, from artists' moving image to documentary, the essay film, audio and cross-media works; recent artists screened include Sky Hopinka, Onyeka Igwe, Luke Fowler, Ana Vaz, Jessica Sarah Rinland and Morgan Quaintance. ELIGIBILITY: non-fiction film and video, cross-platform projects and audio works completed after 1 January 2026; no strict premiere requirement, but works not yet publicly screened in London are prioritized. All selected filmmakers receive screening fees: GBP 275 for works over 60 minutes, GBP 140 for works over 40 minutes, GBP 70 for works under 40 minutes, GBP 100 for cross-platform projects (all incl. VAT). Submissions via FilmFreeway with tiered entry fees (lower before the early deadline). EARLY DEADLINE: 25 September 2026. FINAL DEADLINE: 27 November 2026; all entrants notified by 22 February 2027.
The British Council's standing Travel Grant Fund helps early to mid-career UK filmmakers and XR creatives represent their work abroad, build networks, reach new audiences and raise the international profile of new and emerging UK film and immersive talent. Supported by BFI National Lottery funding in partnership with BFI NETWORK and the BFI International Fund. WHAT IT FUNDS: travel to attend international film festivals, showcases, training and development labs, and co-production forums, across five strands: short film festival grants, feature film festival grants, interactive/XR grants (including VR, immersive storytelling experiences and installations), lab grants and co-production forum grants. AMOUNTS: short and feature festival grants GBP 150 to 1,500 (typically up to GBP 750); XR travel-only grants GBP 150 to 1,500; large XR grants GBP 1,500 to 5,000; lab grants up to GBP 6,000; co-production forum grants up to GBP 2,000. WHO CAN APPLY: UK residents or citizens aged 18+; applicants can be directors, producers or writers attached to the selected project. KEY CONDITIONS: the festival, lab or forum must appear on the British Council's Key Lists of eligible events, and the project must be registered on the British Council's UK Project Database. DEADLINE: rolling, no fixed deadlines; submit at least two weeks before the event starts (retrospective applications for past events are not accepted). Free to apply.
Impact is the higher-budget production strand of the BFI Filmmaking Fund and carries the largest award available in the current BFI portfolio at up to GBP 1.25 million. It sits above the Discovery strand in scale, serving experienced directors with production budgets from GBP 1 million to GBP 15 million, and debut directors whose budgets exceed GBP 3.5 million. UNLIKE DISCOVERY, Impact accepts applications on a continuous rolling basis with no round structure and no published closing date, though applicants must submit at least 20 weeks before principal photography begins. SELECTION is explicitly criteria-driven: projects must address at least three of the BFI's stated aims, covering equity and inclusion, audience or cultural impact, talent development, creative risk, production activity across the UK nations and regions, and environmental sustainability. ELIGIBILITY: applications must come from a limited company registered and centrally managed in the UK, so individuals cannot apply. A dedicated producer is always required, though unlike Discovery the writer and director may be the same person. Directing credits must be evidenced. No explicit nationality or residency test for the director or writer is published. NOTE: the BFI cautions that maximum-level awards are rare, so realistic requests will typically fall well below the GBP 1.25 million ceiling.
Development Funding is the earliest-stage strand of the BFI Filmmaking Fund, supporting original live action and animated feature films through script and package development to the point where they are viable candidates for production finance. It is aimed at distinctive fiction projects from what the BFI calls 'adventurous storytellers', across a wide range of genres rather than a single house style. UNLIKE DISCOVERY, it does not operate in rounds: applications are accepted year-round, with the only fixed interruption being an annual closure through the month of April, plus occasional short pauses during periods of high demand or holidays. ELIGIBILITY: the application must be made by a producer through a limited company registered at Companies House, so unincorporated individuals are ineligible. Nationality and residency requirements are not published on the fund page. NOTE: award amounts are not published, so the ceiling should be treated as unknown rather than assumed. Successful applicants are required to publicly acknowledge National Lottery support in project credits and materials.
The Audience Projects Fund distributes GBP 19.7 million of National Lottery money over three years to widen UK audiences for film and immersive work, covering exhibition, distribution, festivals, touring programmes and sector-support initiatives. It reopened in November 2025 and runs continuously with no closing date, which makes it one of the more accessible large BFI pots for organisations working on the audience-facing rather than production side. AWARDS are tiered: small pilot projects receive GBP 10,000 to GBP 20,000, while full projects can receive GBP 20,000 to GBP 500,000 per year, with immersive projects permitted to include up to GBP 150,000 of production cost inside that envelope. ELIGIBILITY is strictly institutional. Applicants must be legally constituted organisations centrally managed in the UK and not more than 50% foreign-owned. Eligible types include limited companies (not classed as 'large' under the Companies Act 2006), community interest companies, LLPs, UK local or statutory authorities, and registered UK charities or trusts. Individual practitioners cannot apply. Applicants must evidence experience in marketing, festivals, distribution, immersive installations, cultural programming, touring or sector support. TIMING: there are no deadlines but lead times are enforced. Single-film distribution projects must apply at least 10 weeks before release; all other projects at least 16 weeks before the project starts.
The rare BFI stream that individuals can apply to directly. Individual Skills funding supports training and professional development for people working, or intending to work, in the UK screen heritage sector, the field concerned with preserving, digitising and widening public access to screen archive collections. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be 18 or over, working or intending to work in the UK screen heritage sector, hold a UK bank account, and be eligible to work in the UK. TIMING: applications are rolling with no deadline, but must be submitted at least eight weeks before the training starts. All funded activity must be completed by 31 March 2029, the end of the current National Lottery funding plan period. CONTEXT: the wider Screen Heritage Fund has three strands. Project funding, open to legally constituted not-for-profit organisations operating a screen archive or collection network, runs year-round with a 16-week lead time and prioritises collections that better reflect the diversity of the UK. Resilience funding for the 2026-29 cycle closed on 31 March 2026 and is not currently accepting applications. NOTE: award ranges are not published on the fund overview page.
The BFI Doc Society Features Production Fund (delivered via BFI with Doc Society as delegate partner) supports UK filmmakers producing non-fiction feature films intended for theatrical release. Two strands: Directions (first- or second-time directors) and Momentum (established talent). AMOUNT: up to £150,000 non-recoupable grant (the total Doc Society contribution per project cannot exceed £150,000). ELIGIBILITY: UK-based filmmakers, both emerging and established directors; experienced and debut producers eligible; projects must meet at least three of six stated priorities: equity/diversity, audience impact, talent development, creative risk, UK-wide access, and environmental sustainability. PROCESS: two-stage — submit an Expression of Interest, then a Full Application if invited. Rolling intake year-round. Opened May 2026. APPLY via BFI Doc Society website. Contact: hellobfi@docsociety.org.