BFI Film Festival Fund FAQ

Can I discuss my ideas with someone before I make an application?

In the first instance, please read the Film Festival Fund: Overview (PDF), the Guidelines for Applicants (PDF) and this FAQ. We also recommend that you read the UK Audience Network for Film: An Overview document (PDF). If, after that, you still have any questions please use the contact form and we will contact you by email or phone at a time and date to suit you. Where appropriate we will arrange a meeting to discuss your questions with you in person. We are likely to add your questions to this FAQ.

What information do I need to include in the application?

Please refer to the guidelines for advice on completing the application form.

How do I check the status of my current application?

When we have received your submission, we will send you a confirmation email. Please see the guidelines for an indicative timetable for us to process your application and get back to you.

How can I log in to my account?

You can log in to your account at any point to access your in-progress or submitted application by using the in-progress application form.

What kinds of festivals be funded through the Film Festival Fund?

This Fund is aimed at supporting a broad range of film festival activity in the UK; from community provision through to sustaining the ambition and reach of those festivals which are of national or international significance. We wish to support greater sustainability of the sector, encourage new initiatives and ideas around film festivals, and to incentivise film festivals to both work together, and to engage with the film sector more widely through the UK Audience Network. The BFI wishes to encourage people to build a life-long relationship with film, to help create audiences for a broader range of films across all platforms, and to ensure that film culture can be accessed and enjoyed by everyone across the UK. The BFI believes film festivals have the potential to make a significant contribution to these aims.

What can awards from the Film Festival Fund be used for?

Primarily funding can be used for programming, staff, events and activities, but not for capital purchases. Please refer to section two of the guidelines for more details on what our funding can and can’t be used for.

Which strand should I apply to?

Use the descriptions below to determine which strand best applies to your festival. 

• Strand 1 is funding for regional festivals which cater principally to local/regional audiences, or which may have a narrower specialist theme enabling them to reach audiences from further across the UK. Such festivals are usually smaller in scale, focused on audiences rather than industry, and do not generally attract industry delegation.
• Strand 2 is to support film festivals in the UK that have an international or UK-wide reach and profile, enhancing opportunities for UK film industry nationally and internationally, as well as further increasing audience choice.

If I apply to the wrong strand will my application be reconsidered under the alternate strand?

No. Please consider carefully which strand your festival belongs to prior to making your application to the Film Festival Fund. For example, if you apply for Strand 2 and are not successful because, in the opinion of the BFI, your festival is not, and does not have the potential to be, a festival of UK-wide or international significance, then your application will be rejected and it will not be reconsidered under Strand 1.

Why do festivals in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales have to supply a letter of support and additional information with their applications?

When the Creative England Film Culture team and resources transfer to the BFI on 1 April 2013, the BFI will be responsible for funding film festivals in England, whereas there are dedicated film festival funds operated by our partners in the nations: Northern Ireland Screen, Creative Scotland and Film Agency for Wales. The BFI Film Festival Fund will therefore prioritise festivals which are based in England but in certain circumstances, where it is clear that an allocation of funding from the BFI can achieve added value, we will also provide additional support for festivals based elsewhere in the UK. Such festivals will need to demonstrate support from their agency and provide additional information, as outlined in detail in the guidelines.

My festival is based in England, and I would normally talk to the Creative England Film Culture team about my application. Can I still speak to them about this one?

Yes, in this interim period before the Creative England Film Culture team move to the BFI, you can still contact them at Creative England in the usual way, to discuss your application to this fund.  From 1 April, you will be able to contact them via the BFI.

Some of the points in the assessment criteria are not relevant to my festival. Will my application automatically fail if I cannot address every point?

No, not all questions in the Assessment Criteria section will be relevant to every festival – as a basic rule the more funding you request the more questions you need to address.

Why is there more than one deadline?

The Film Festival Fund is a rolling four year fund with two application calls per year. Please refer to the table in section 2.2 of the Guidelines for details of the initial deadlines and key dates. For the first call for applications only there will be a fast track option for festivals which are due to take place between 1 April 2013 and 31 July 2013. Provided that you submit your application in full by the early deadline of 2pm on Friday 1 March 2013 we will endeavour to fast-track the assessment of your application in order to inform you of our decision by Friday 29 March. All other applications will be addressed within our standard deadline.

Can I submit an application for funding for a new festival?

We may consider supporting a new festival (in Strand 1 only) if it can demonstrate that it will fill an important gap in provision, either in terms of geographical location, theme or focus.

Why is funding only available until 2017?

This scheme is part of our Film Forever strategy which runs until the end of the financial year in 2017. The investment period for this Film Festival Fund therefore is the four year period up until end March 2017.

My question has not been answered here. How do I contact you?

Please submit your query using our contact form.