Contents
1. About this fund
The UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF), financed by the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and administered by the BFI, seeks to increase the UK screen sector’s international competitiveness by offering additional, targeted support at each stage of the screen content supply chain.
The UKGSF supports international business development, co-production, promotion and distribution activities to:
- grow the revenue and sustainability of UK independent screen businesses by supporting their international activity
- enable industry to further grow international partnerships and to develop projects with international appeal for mutual benefit
- increase the reach of UK screen content to international audiences
Fund aims and priorities
Film Sales Minimum Guarantee (FSMG) seeks to support UK sales agents to offer minimum guarantees (MGs) to secure international sales rights to UK feature films. We want to increase the ability of UK sales agents to take greater risks in acquiring these rights and enable more UK films to benefit from this form of financing. More broadly, we intend to positively impact the competitiveness and risk-taking ability of UK film sales companies, creating more opportunities for them to represent UK independent films.
FSMG has been designed to give sales agents the confidence and flexibility to move quickly to secure UK titles with support from UKGSF. Sales agents can apply for up to £100,000 towards the cost of an MG for one or more titles, across a twelve-month period. Funding can support up to 50% of the total amount of the individual MG for each film.
Funding awards will be made in the form of non-recoupable grants.
If you have any questions about the fund or the application process please email [email protected].
2. Check if you’re eligible
Lead applicant organisation
Your organisation must meet all the following criteria:
- be an organisation with the core business of being a sales agent, selling the international rights of independent film projects to distributors
- have handled international sales rights to at least one film that has been released theatrically in any territory in the past twelve months
- be a limited company registered and centrally managed in the UK and in good standing
- not be one of the following types of entity, nor have more than 25% of your organisation’s shares held, directly or indirectly by, one or more of the following third parties:
- a non-UK corporate entity
- a television broadcaster or SVOD platform or operator
- a company defined as a large company under the Companies Act 2006 which means that the company has at least two of the following:
- turnover of more than £54 million
- balance sheet total of more than £27 million
- more than 250 employees
We may accept an application from a company that is more than 25% owned by a non-UK corporate entity if it is centrally managed and operated in the UK. You will need to provide evidence to this effect, including documentation reflecting the number of UK-based employees and non-UK based employees, evidence of UK corporation tax payment and evidence that the non-UK owner is not taking a disproportionate amount of money out of the business.
A company can make one application per funding round.
We may not assess your application if you have mismanaged a previous BFI award or have not provided deliverables on time without reasonable justification.
Eligible content
You can apply for support to contribute towards MGs you are offering to UK films, which must:
- be a ‘single project’ and feature-length (minimum 60 minutes running time)
- have potential for a theatrical release
- qualify or be wholly capable of qualifying for certification as a British film either under:
- the cultural test
- one of the UK’s official bilateral co-production treaties
- the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production
Films can be in any genre.
When you’re ineligible
The fund will not support the following:
- companies that are not UK sales agents meeting the definition above
- Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
- MGs for TV content
- MGs for films that are incapable of obtaining a BBFC certificate no more restrictive than BBFC ‘18’, or the equivalent certification within another format
- work that does not meet the other eligibility criteria stated elsewhere in the funding guidelines
This list is not exhaustive and if you are unsure if you are eligible, email [email protected].
3. What you can use funding for
You can apply for up to £100,000 to pay for one or more sales MGs to secure the international rights to UK films. If your application is successful, an overall funding amount will be approved as an award. You can then propose one or more films for which you wish to offer an MG by drawing on the award across a 12-month period (the ‘allocation window’). As described in the conditions of funding, UKGSF will need to approve each film to which funding is being allocated, with a quick turnaround to enable you to act swiftly in negotiations.
For films which are not yet 100% financed, you will have an additional 12 months from the date the allocation is approved by UKGSF to launch sales and work on the financing of the film. If after 12 months the film’s financing hasn’t closed, the portion of your FSMG award allocated to this film will be withdrawn by UKGSF.
Partnership funding requirements
UKGSF can never be the sole funder of any project. We require a meaningful partnership funding contribution to be made to all projects we support. For each MG you are offering, UKGSF funding can support up to 50% of the total amount of the MG. The remainder of the MG needs to be funded by your company, either through your own funds or those you have secured from third party financiers and funders (but not including pre-sales).
Eligible costs
You can apply for funding to contribute towards sales MGs to secure international rights to UK films. The funding cannot be used for any other purposes, including company overhead, staff costs or any costs relating to financing the provision of the total MG to the film.
The UKGSF reserves the right to exclude any other costs which do not reflect the spirit and intention of this funding.
If you have read these guidelines thoroughly and are still unsure if you are eligible to apply, please email us at [email protected]
Complying with UK subsidy legislation
The amount requested must also comply with UK subsidy legislation. The UKGSF FSMG strand operates within the terms of Category 2 (Screen) of the Arts and Culture Streamlined Subsidy Scheme pursuant to section 10 (5) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
The Arts and Culture Streamlined Subsidy Scheme which runs from 12 January 2026 to 11 January 2032 requires that in the context of Category 2 schemes, the applicant company must not typically receive more than a combined total sum of £12 million of subsidies over a three-year financial period (April – March regardless of your own financial year dates) from any UK public authority for each particular project or activity, whether given under the Arts and Culture Streamlined Subsidy Scheme or otherwise (including Minimal Financial Assistance).
An existing subsidy must be cumulated with the proposed subsidy requested from UKGSF if the subsidy meets all of the following conditions and was given:
- to the same enterprise by any UK public authority
- for the same project or activity
- for the same or substantially the same specific purposes, and
- within the last three financial years (that is, the last two complete financial years, running from 1 April to 31 March, and the lapsed part of the current financial year)
In your application, you will be required to submit a declaration confirming all subsidies received by your company that meet the above criteria, to ensure that this cap is not exceeded.
4. How to apply
When you can apply
Check the landing page for opening and closing dates for this fund.
Information you need to provide
Your proposal
You’ll need to provide details of:
- your organisation (the applicant)
- the UK films you are actively selling, what stage of pre- or post-production they are at, and for how long they’ve been on your slate
- UK films you are tracking that FSMG funding could be used for
- the total amount you are requesting
- your company’s capacity to contribute finance towards the MG, either with your own resources or with financing partners
- how the activity and funding will enable you to do things you otherwise could not, and so impact your international growth strategy and wider business prospects
You will also need to show that your request for subsidy from UKGSF is compliant with the criteria regarding the Arts and Culture Streamlined Subsidy Scheme route.
Documents you’ll need to provide
You’ll need to upload a sales track record (using the template provided) with sales information for up to five of your company’s top performing recent titles, giving priority to UK titles, including:
- production and release dates
- value of sales
- the stage at which sales occurred
- sales territory breakdown
- box office reporting for these titles in international territories with theatrical releases (where available)
- other noteworthy results in said territories, including, where relevant, VOD or TV sales, and significant awards and festival selection
Download templates for your application
Additional areas you will need to consider
You will also need to address the BFI’s cross-cutting priorities in your application.
UK-wide
The UKGSF seeks to ensure a UK-wide benefit and address geographic imbalance within the industry. You will be asked to answer a question on the UK-wide elements of your project. As part of our assessment we consider:
- where your company is based in the UK
- how films you have previously sold, and the films you are currently tracking for potential use of a FSMG award, reflect the culture and talent of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English regions outside Greater London
Environmental sustainability
You’ll need to outline how environmental sustainability principles will be embedded into your activity. This includes:
- telling us if any projects you are tracking engage with the climate emergency
- how you embed environmental sustainability within your organisation more broadly
If funded, you’ll need to report how you have applied the environmental sustainability principle in project delivery and more broadly. We’ll also signpost you to a range of tools, resources, and training opportunities to support you in making your activity more sustainable.
Equity, diversity and inclusion — Diversity Standards form
As part of your application, you must address the BFI Diversity Standards, which means telling us about your intentions around diversity, inclusion and representation for your strategy and the films you acquire. This means describing relevant aspects of the narratives, characters, themes and cast or contributors of the films you have previously sold and are tracking. You will also need to draw on information about your current staff, any early career and training opportunities you will make available, and your accessibility processes.
Read the guidance on how to complete the Diversity Standards for ideas of how to respond given your project and activity type. We will review the quality and ambition of your plans to meet the Diversity Standards and may ask you to further develop your ideas before we make a funding decision.
You’ll need to create an account for the BFI Diversity Standards portal, if you don’t already have one. Once you have logged in to the portal, click ‘start new application’ and select the Diversity Standards – UKGSF version of the form.
This form will give you a unique reference number, which you’ll need to complete the main application form.
Application forms received without a completed and submitted Diversity Standards form will be considered incomplete and therefore ineligible.
Your information may be shared with funding partners or the BAFTA and BIFA film awards, and used to help inform future funding decisions, research and strategy. Any equality monitoring data will be anonymised.
If you have questions or concerns about your ability to meet the standards or would like to discuss approaches to meeting the criteria, you can contact the Diversity Standards Manager in the BFI Certification Unit on 020 7173 3273 or email [email protected].
As part of your main funding application, you’ll also be asked to answer a question about representation within your organisation’s leadership.
Submitting your application
To apply, you’ll need to create an account or have an existing account on our grant website. You’ll then need to complete and submit the online application form. You can save your application and return to it when you need to.
Make sure you complete all the sections as incomplete forms will be automatically ineligible.
Check the guidance on how to use our BFI applicant portal.
You can view a PDF preview of the application form to see the questions you will be asked in full:
If you need additional support using the application form or encounter technical issues, please contact us at [email protected].
Speculative submissions
We will only consider funding projects that have been submitted to us through the formal application process. This means that we cannot accept, or read, application materials submitted by any means other than via the online application portal.
5. What happens after you apply
Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a unique ID number and an automated confirmation of receipt. If you do not receive this, please contact [email protected]
You’ll get confirmation we received your application within five working days.
We will review your application to check that it is eligible for assessment.
You will receive a funding decision within eight weeks of the funding round closing date.
If your application is ineligible
We will endeavour to inform you of this within two weeks. If you realise you’ve made an error on your application which has made it ineligible, tell us immediately, as we may allow you to correct it and resubmit. We continue to verify application eligibility throughout the assessment process and may determine at any point that an application is ineligible.
If we need more information to determine eligibility
We may write to you to request more information about your application. If we need more information, it may have an impact on our ability to take a funding decision within the response timeframes above. You will be required to respond to this request within five working days or as otherwise specified in correspondence. If no response is given within that timeframe, the application will be declined.
Where the applicant is more than 25% non-UK-owned and has been asked to evidence that they are centrally managed and operated in the UK, the time taken to conduct eligibility checks may be extended depending on whether further due diligence or evidence is required.
How your application is assessed
The UKGSF seeks to support projects that are in clear need of public funding and that make a case for achieving significant results against our stated aims. Our assessment scores eligible applications against the following criteria:
Track record: 40%
We’ll consider how:
- you have demonstrated capability to acquire and sell theatrical UK films to the international market
- many UK films you are currently actively selling. Non-UK films will receive lower scoring than UK films
Finance: 20%
We’ll consider how you plan to raise finance to contribute to your portion of the MG, including what internal or external resources you would draw from.
International growth strategy: 20%
We’ll consider:
- how you plan to use the award to target projects suitable for international sales and the level of clarity of your intentions for using the FSMG award
- the extent to which you are tracking a range of potentially suitable films for international sales
Additionality: 10%
We’ll consider the extent to which you anticipate the award will impact upon your overall business strategy.
UK-wide: 10%
We’ll consider how your previously sold titles and wider activity reflect the culture and talent of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English regions outside Greater London
Cross-cutting BFI priorities
Each of the following must be fully addressed:
- the quality and ambition of plans to address the Diversity Standards
- feasibility and impact of your intentions for activity to be more environmentally sustainable and reduce negative environmental impact
Assessment process
All applications will be assessed by the UKGSF team at the BFI. We may consult external reviewers with relevant expertise during the assessment process.
You may be invited to a meeting or phone call to discuss the application further. This does not mean that we have made a commitment to provide funding to you. The meeting is solely an opportunity for us to discuss your application and project with you in more detail. You may need to supply further information after the meeting and we will need to review that before we can make a final decision.
If we don’t receive any further materials or information from you within five working days or as otherwise specified in correspondence, your application will automatically be marked as ‘withdrawn’. This will not affect your ability to apply for other BFI funds or to UKGSF in the future.
Applications which are not progressing beyond the assessment stage will be declined by email. This email will state that we have reviewed your application and are not considering it further and that your application is now closed.
Identity checks
We undertake due diligence assessments of the applications we are recommending to our decision-making committee for funding. As part of this, before applying to the committee, we may request the bank details of the lead applicant. We will request the personal address and date of birth of the CEO or Managing Director of the organisation applying. We will use this data to run an identity check. Our request for this information is not an indication or confirmation of funding and you will be informed separately of the funding decision on your application. This is not a credit check. We will be unable to submit your application to our decision-making committee until we have received your completed form.
Grant Finance Committee consideration
Following the assessment of your application, all applications which are being recommended for funding will be submitted to the BFI’s Grant Finance Committee. This committee is made up of members of the BFI Executive Board and other staff members who make funding decisions in line with the BFI Grant Funding Policies and Procedures handbook. This is the final stage of the funding decision process.
6. Getting a decision
You will be informed in writing if your application has been unsuccessful or successful.
If you’re successful
You’ll receive an offer letter setting out the details of the total amount you may receive from UKGSF to contribute towards one or more MGs for UK independent films, and the dates of your allocation window.
In the event that you change the acquisition strategy outlined in your application, we reserve the right to reduce the total award amount available to you. Any proposed changes must be reviewed and pre-approved by UKGSF.
Feedback on an unsuccessful application
We aim to make the application process as transparent as possible. Because of the volume of applications we receive, we do not have the resources to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants. We will keep the data and supporting materials you sent to us in line with our records retention policy.
Unsuccessful applicants will be able to reapply at future rounds of the FSMG strand, while it remains active, providing they meet the eligibility criteria and can provide updated application materials.
We welcome your feedback on the application process and how we might improve it, via [email protected].
7. Conditions of funding
Allocating funding
If your application is successful, before we make any payments to you, you must identify one or more projects that you wish to take on for international sales and seek approval from UKGSF to allocate your award against those, within the allocation window. This includes submitting to UKGSF an allocation schedule, containing the following:
- project information, including director, writer, producers, short synopsis, cast attachments
- sales estimates
- draft finance plan and target budget
- production plan including the intended production and post-production locations
- script or equivalent document for non-fiction titles and supporting material (such as a pitch deck)
- screener link or promo, where production has already been completed
- a brief outline of why you selected this project and how you expect it to qualify as British
- confirmation that the film has not been developed nor is being produced in-house by your company
UKGSF will review these materials to check that the film has the potential to be eligible (meaning it is a UK-qualifying independent film), with a reasonable chance of being successfully financed. Not all films submitted may be approved for support — we may seek clarity from you on your rationale and may require you allocate the award to a different film.
Where awardees are in the process of bidding for rights to a film or the negotiation of the deal is in progress but not complete, and the allocation window is expiring, awardees may request a discretionary three-month extension of the allocation window to enable the acquisition to be completed. You should submit an updated version of the allocation schedule containing each new film to which you wish to allocate funding. Once UKGSF has approved a film, the allocation schedule will be updated to reflect UKGSF’s approval and the agreed amount of funding allocated to the film.
Where the film is not yet fully financed at the point of approval, the awardee will have an additional 12-month financing window in which to sell and raise financing for the film, commencing on the date of UKGSF’s approval as noted in the allocation schedule.
If multiple awardees are seeking to secure sales rights to the same film, we may approve multiple sales agents’ allocation of funding to the film, but the funding will only be paid to the sales agent successfully appointed by the film’s producer, subject to the conditions set out below.
Where UKGSF has approved an allocation to a film to which the sales agent is ultimately not appointed, or where the film is not fully financed 12 months from the date of approval (as noted in the allocation schedule), the allocated funding may be withdrawn from the film, unless otherwise agreed by UKGSF.
Receiving funding
In order to receive funding, you must satisfy the following conditions precedent:
- Where the sales MG forms part of the film’s production financing (referred to as a “pre-sale film”) the awardee must demonstrate that the film’s financing is closed by providing to UKGSF for its approval the following as conditions precedent to payment:
- a copy of the sales agency agreement, and estimates
- a signed copy of the collection account management agreement
- a copy of the interparty agreement (IPA)
- a copy of the completion guaranty (the BFI will be added as a beneficiary to the completion guaranty by way of a signed additional beneficiary letter between the BFI and the completion guarantor)
- evidence that the film has qualified, or is wholly capable of qualifying, as British (for example, a letter of comfort from the BFI Certification team, interim certificate or final certificate)
- delivery of the insurances policy with evidence that the BFI is added as a loss payee to the production insurance(s) and an errors and omissions (E&O) certificate with the BFI added as an additional insured along with proof that the premium has been paid
Where the film’s closing is “soft” (meaning where there is no IPA or bond), additional documentation – including, but not limited to, all the financing documents, finance plan, budget and production/financiers’ cashflows - will be required.
- Where sales MG does not form part of the film’s production financing (meaning it is acquired in post-production or on completion), the awardee will need to deliver to UKGSF for its approval, the following as conditions precedent to payment:
- a signed copy of the sales agency agreement, and estimates
- a signed copy of the collection account management agreement
- an E&O certificate adding the BFI as an additional insured
- evidence that the film has qualified, or is wholly capable of qualifying, as British (for example, a letter of comfort from the BFI Certification team, interim certificate or final certificate)
- final audited cost report (if not available, a final cost report signed by production accountant).
Upon approval of the conditions precedent set out above, the awardee shall enter into a FSMG finance agreement with the BFI that sets out the full terms and conditions of your award in relation to the approved film.
Upon execution of the agreement, subject to Clause [3] below, funding will be paid at least 14 days after receipt by UKGSF of a valid invoice and evidence that the sales agent has paid its own share of the MG. Where the film is complete, the sales agent must provide evidence that it has accepted delivery of the film.
Terms and conditions
In addition to the BFI General Funding Conditions, these terms and conditions will include the following (but may also include others specific to your application):
- Any award must be used exclusively for the purpose for which it was requested, as set out in your application.
- The funding is a grant that is not recoupable by the BFI, except in the circumstances set out below and in the funding agreement.
- The amount offered may be reduced, withdrawn or the agreement terminated if this UKGSF award will result in your company exceeding the relevant cumulative subsidy threshold of £12 million over three financial years under Category 2 (Screen) of the Arts and Culture Streamlined Subsidy Scheme, or used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was given.
- We reserve the right to adjust the payment structure at the BFI’s sole discretion.
- Successful applicants will be issued with guidance on final reporting, including requirements around benefits generated by the award and promotional activity. For each film to which funding is allocated, we will require a final report consisting of international sales and box office information, due on the earlier of three to six months after the film’s first festival, or three to six months after first theatrical release, or 12 months after the sales agent’s acceptance of delivery of the film, whichever is sooner. For pre-sale films, an interim report will be required at the point of the film’s financial closing. This interim report will reflect sales achieved on the film to date.
- Where reporting is overdue or has not been received from an awardee, UKGSF will not consider awarding any further funding to the company until the reporting has been received and approved.
- The offer letter and the FSMG finance agreement may be terminated and any funding already advanced may be required to be repaid in the event that any of the requirements set out in these guidelines or any of the terms of the finance agreement are breached.
- The BFI may withdraw any offer of its funding if it has reasonable concerns relating to the viability of the film or films to which funding has been allocated; the nature and terms of any partnership funding secured towards the MG; the film receiving MG support; the awardee operating in a way which might bring the BFI or DCMS into disrepute.
- Successful applicants will be provided with detailed branding guidelines that set out the specific requirements for acknowledging this funding and the UKGSF as a UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport fund administered by the BFI. We require grant recipients to increase the visibility of the Government’s support by:
- Promoting and displaying the UKGSF logo
- Assisting in communicating the benefit of the UKGSF, to ensure that its value and impact is recognised and understood by key stakeholders
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Making themselves available and encouraging key talent to take part in promotional activities
It is an important condition of UKGSF funding that the source of the funding is prominently acknowledged through use of the UKGSF logo and through agreed verbal and written acknowledgement. Partners and beneficiaries are expected to take opportunities to highlight not just the fact of the funding but why their project is funded and therefore the increased opportunity that is possible through the Government’s support.
- You will be required to deliver against the undertakings made by you in relation to the BFI Diversity Standards. Failure to deliver against those undertakings without good cause may affect your ability to receive future project funding from the BFI.
- Successful applicants and the UK producer(s) of projects supported with the FSMG grant will be required to take part in formal evaluation of the UKGSF if contacted by an independent evaluator. This will include the provision of information on the relevant film’s release and the funded activities to inform this evaluation. This may include, but shall not be limited to, information in respect of the film’s release and the funded activities for the purposes of case studies, quotes from the awardee benefiting from the award and provision of visual materials relating to the funded activity.
- The awardee will be required to grant to the BFI and DCMS the right to use any materials that the awardee creates in relation to the marketing and promotion of the supported film for the purpose of promoting the UKGSF in any media throughout the world for a period of at least three years from the date of issuance of the conditional offer of funding.