UK Global Screen Fund announces latest international distribution awards

The BFI has announced its latest UK Global Screen Fund awards. Financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the awards allocate a further £703,956 to 25 new feature films through the fund’s International Distribution strand. 

This funding, which supports UK producers and sales agents with the promotion and distribution of UK feature films in international territories, is allocated through Festival Launch and Prints & Advertising (P&A) grants.

Festival Launch grants supported premieres at major international festivals including Sundance, Berlin and Cannes, with UK titles gaining momentum and achieving notable success on the festival circuit. Highlights include: The Incomer, which secured international distribution with Focus; The Last First: Winter K2, acquired for global rights by Apple Original Films; and Everybody to Kenmure Street, which was picked up by Icarus Films for North American distribution after its Sundance premiere. In addition, Everybody Digs Bill Evans (a UKGSF-supported co-production) won Grant Gee the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival, while I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, backed by the BFI Filmmaking Fund, received the Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Projects supported with P&A grants for the release of a single UK film across a grouping of at least four international territories were I Swear, Pillion, Wasteman, Broken English and Palestine 36.

“This latest round of international distribution awards has helped increase the promotion and reach of a fantastic range of UK feature films across fiction and documentary, already achieving significant international success on the festival circuit,” said Denitsa Yordanova, Director of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds. “We are so proud to support our talented screen sector and excited to be enhancing the offer for the UK independent screen sector, further encouraging international collaboration and growth through the newly expanded UK Global Screen Fund.”

“We were delighted to be accepted into Sundance, but reality hits quickly,” said Sean Richard, Founder of Object Studios (The Last First: Winter K2). “Reaching the end of production without knowing what the future of your film looks like is a nerve-wracking place to be. The UK Global Screen Fund support enabled us to be present for the process of finding a distribution partner, which made a real difference. That window when the film screens and there’s energy and momentum is crucial for securing a home, and this fund helped us be there when it mattered. We’re so grateful and absolutely delighted that Apple decided to acquire the film.”

UK Global Screen Fund International Distribution awards, via the Prints & Advertising (P&A) Support track:

• Broken English (Phantoscopic Limited)
• I Swear (Bankside Films)
• Palestine 36 (Corniche Capital)
• Pillion (Cornerstone Films)
• Wasteman (Bankside Films)

UK Global Screen Fund International Distribution awards via the Festival Launch Support track:

• Animol (Bankside Films)
• Birds of War (Sonja Henrici Creates)
• Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon (Parcel of Rogues)
• Everybody Digs Bill Evans (Hot Property)
• Everybody To Kenmure Street (Barry Crerar)
• Frank & Louis (Caspian Films)
• I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning (Moonspun Films)
• Killing Anna (KEO Films)
• Lady (Ossian International)
• Nightborn (M.I.H.K.)
• Sunny Dancer (Embankment Films)
• The Disciple (Violet Films)
• The Education of Jane Cumming (Sylph Productions)
• The End of It (Bankside Films)
• The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford (Ossian International)
• The Incomer (Pilea Pictures)
• The Last First: Winter K2 (Object Studios)
• The Long Haul (Braintrust Productions)
• The Peril at Pincer Point (Gittes-Cross Pictures)
• The Story of Documentary Film (Hopscotch Films)

The UK Global Screen Fund has also recently launched the International Distribution Video Games Release fund, supporting UK video game developers to mount release campaigns for their games in international territories.

UK Global Screen Fund applications are currently open for:

• International Distribution Prints & Advertising (P&A) – assessed on a rolling basis
• International Distribution Festival Launch – assessed on a rolling basis
• International Distribution Video Games Release – closing 14 August

Applications for International Co-production funding will re-open in September, with International Business Development re-opening next year having recently closed.

As part of UKGSF’s strategic plan for 2026-29, new initiatives will be launched throughout the year, including Majority Co-production (supporting UK majority co-productions in documentary and animation), Film Sales Guarantee (supporting UK sales agents with funding towards sales Minimum Guarantees, used to secure international sales rights to UK independent films), and Slate Fund (support for slates of up to 5 projects with international audience potential, in more advanced development).

Explore all awards made by the UK Global Screen Fund.