For 2026-29, £3million has been awarded to elevenfiftyfive Ltd, trading as ESCAPES, to deliver a minimum of 30 events across 3 years. This is building on the previous award of £2.7million, which supported 23 UK-wide events between 2024 and 2026.
The programme uses National Lottery Funding to book cinema screens each month in independent cinemas across the UK. Either a new release or re-release title is selected and screened in all participating cinema venues on the same date ahead of the main theatrical release, to create a regular national moment.
Audiences identified as having current low cinema engagement are prioritised and invited to attend through targeted marketing and promotion and offered free tickets on a first come first served basis. A core aim of the programme is for screenings to be fully accessible to the widest possible audience. All screenings are presented with open-captioned subtitles, audio description is available and regular relaxed screenings are offered throughout the programme.
The purpose of this programme is to break down the barriers that have prevented more audiences from historically engaging with and enjoying independent films in UK-wide independent cinemas; namely price, accessibility provision and threshold anxiety.
By removing as many of these barriers as possible, the programme supports both the BFI’s UK-wide and inclusion principles by welcoming a broader range of audiences that are representative of the UK population.
More details about the programme can be found via the designated ESCAPES ticketing website.
About the National Lottery
Since the very first National Lottery draw in 1994, more than £50 billion for good causes has been raised directly through National Lottery ticket sales, funding more than 700,000 projects. As a recipient of National Lottery funding, it is important to publicly acknowledge the source of this funding ensuring that those engaging with your work recognise the value and benefit of this unique Good Cause funding.
If your application is successful, you will be responsible for prominently crediting BFI National Lottery funding and thanking National Lottery players. To communicate this message, you should ensure that the elements of your project which have the potential to engage a broad public audience are capitalised on. More details will be supplied once an award has been made.