Application dates
Applications open at midday on 3 April 2025 and close at midday on 19 June 2025.
What you can apply for
Eligible companies can apply for funding using one of two tracks:
- Film Transformation Track: funding for internationally focused transformational business strategies related to independent UK film. Strategies must start in early 2026 and span three to five years
- General Track: funding for business strategies to create, acquire and/or exploit intellectual property (IP), covering all eligible screen sectors, for increased international revenue, audiences and profile. Strategies must start in early 2026 and span three years
Eligible companies can apply for funding between £50,000 and £200,000 in total over the three-year funding period, with support in the form of non-repayable grants (applicable to both the Film Transformation Track and the General Track).
Who can apply
The International Business Development strand is open to independent UK screen companies with a track record in creating, acquiring, and/or exploiting IP in at least one of the following categories:
- feature films – fiction, documentary, animation – for theatrical and/or online release
- programmes – fiction, documentary, animation – for broadcast television, video-on-demand services or other forms of online release
- interactive narrative video games for commercial digital platforms, generating revenue from the public consumer market
Our funding priorities
This strand aims to support the development of UK screen content businesses focusing on revenue generation through export and international expansion.
UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF) support will enable eligible companies to achieve measurable results, including:
- assisting companies to develop a strong presence in the international marketplace
- developing quality UK projects aimed at the global marketplace and global audiences
- supporting the creation of new international business partnerships and alliances
- supporting the development of new international revenue streams and increased private sector investment
- assisting companies in establishing targeted development, production, sales, distribution and marketing strategies which exploit new opportunities in the global digital and online realm
In addition, in making awards through each of its strands, the fund is seeking to ensure a UK-wide benefit and address geographic imbalance within the industry.
Therefore, as part of our assessment, we will consider:
- where the applicant company is registered
- where the applicant company staff is based and work is being undertaken
- how the work that the applicant company creates, acquires, and/or exploits reflects the culture and talent of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English regions outside Greater London
- any other proposed UK-wide benefits within the application
What you need to provide
To complete the application form you will need to supply:
- full details of the eligible company and their current position in the marketplace
- an innovative three-year business strategy for international growth (applicants applying under the Film Transformation Track should provide a five-year business strategy)
- your two most recent sets of annual (statutory) accounts
- your most recent set of management accounts not more than twelve months old (note that these should include a balance sheet and a profit and loss account)
- corporate ownership chart indicating direct and indirect ownership interests (%) and domicile of related entities, if applicable
- a Business Plan (template provided) demonstrating the company’s projected turnover for the next three to five year period, including project pipeline and any back up documentation supporting the assumptions behind the plan
- a detailed Budget (template provided) showing the Eligible Costs requested, cash flowed over the period of funding, and how the balance of the costs of your proposed activity will be funded
- details of IP content previously created, acquired and/or exploited by the company including metrics of success such as: audience data, box office receipts, number of players, user and social media analytics, Metacritic scores, awards, ratings or other sector-specific metrics from the past five years (template provided)
Further documentation may be requested during the assessment process, if necessary for us to evaluate the application.
Apply for funding
Read the fund guidelines in full before applying. There is an application link in the guidelines.
We can provide assistance to applicants who have a disability, are D/deaf, have a visual or hearing impairment or are neurodiverse, where this support is needed for someone to make an application. See access support for BFI applicants.
Our resources: application outcomes and feedback
The extremely competitive nature of our funding means we often have to turn down projects even when they meet all of our stated criteria.
We aim to make the application process as fair and transparent as possible. As a result of the volume of applications we receive, we do not have the resources to provide feedback on projects that have been declined.
