You can also listen to the guidelines.

1. About this funding

BFI NETWORK is a collaboration between the BFI, national film organisations and leading cultural venues around the UK. You can find more information about the partners that make up BFI NETWORK on our funding finder page. You can also find the projects that have been funded by BFI NETWORK.

BFI NETWORK England short film funding supports early career filmmakers with fiction shorts of up to 15 minutes, in live action, animation and immersive/VR. We will use the word ‘film’ or ‘project’ in these guidelines to cover all of these. Awards will be made to standalone projects, including those that have the potential to be developed into longer form or serial form in the future.

2. Aims of the funding

All projects funded by BFI NETWORK must address some of the following aims, which are also detailed in the stated principles and outcomes of the BFI National Lottery strategy:

Equity, diversity and inclusion — People from under-represented groups across the UK access the support they need to develop their careers and skills.
Impact and audience — People across the UK access a wider choice of film and the moving image, including stories that reflect their lives.
Talent development and progression — Creative talent is supported and nurtured, as they emerge and throughout their careers and more people understand how to express their creativity through stories on screen.
Creative risk — People are better enabled to innovate and experiment creatively; a wider range of stories on screen are told that otherwise would not be.
UK-wide — Everyone across the UK should be able to experience and create the widest range of screen culture. They should feel the benefits from the screen sector in terms of jobs and growth too.
Environmental sustainability - Screen organisations significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

If you’d like support when making your application, you can find information at access support for BFI fund applicants.

3. Check if you’re eligible

All applications for funding must be submitted by the project’s lead producer who will be the main contact for the BFI. The email address used to create the BFI account and application must belong to the lead producer.

Application limits per funding round

Directors, writers, writer/directors (including co-directors, co-writers and co-writer/directors) can only be attached to one application per round.

Producers (including lead producers, co-producers, and writer/producers) can be attached to up to two applications per round. If you are a writer/producer, one application must be as a writer/producer and the other as a producer only.

Once an application has been submitted, core team members cannot take on a different core role on another application within the same round except as outlined above for producers. They may, however, take on crew or ‘below the line’ roles provided these are not core roles such as (co-)writer, writer/director or (co-)producer.

We’re not able to accept any changes to key creative team members at any stage following the submission of an application.

You must disclose in your application if any core team member is involved in any other applications for BFI funding (or in applications that have already secured BFI funds).

Eligibility of applicant (lead producer)

The applicant must:

be a UK resident
be the project’s dedicated lead producer
- they can be the writer of the project they are applying with but cannot be the director
- apply with their full legal name (if an artist name is used, please provide both names)

If applying through a production company, the lead producer must:

ensure that the production company is registered and centrally managed in the UK
be one of the following:
- registered as a director of the company
- formally paired with the company as part of a BFI NETWORK Talent Lab
- be able to evidence that they are a permanent employee of the company (which cannot have the film’s director as a company director or a formal part of the company structure)
meet the full eligibility criteria for the filmmaking team listed below

Eligibility of the director

The director or writer/director for your project must:

be a resident in England
- the director’s postcode is used to determine which region the application will be assigned to for assessment
not be the producer or co-producer of the project
not have received a commercial distribution deal in the last 5 years
- This applies to any of their previous longform fiction works, whether theatrically or through a major online platform, unless the work was self-distributed
not have directed more than one BFI NETWORK England short film
- if the director has previously directed a BFI NETWORK England short film, then there must be clear career and creative progression outlined in the application for a second BFI NETWORK short film
not have been attached as a writer, director or writer/director to a development or production award from the BFI Filmmaking Fund or BFI NETWORK delivered to the BFI in the last two years
meet all requirements for the filmmaking team

Eligibility of the writer

The writer must:

be based in the UK
not have received a commercial distribution deal in the last 5 years
- this applies to any of their previous longform narrative works, whether theatrically or through a major online platform, unless the work was self-distributed
not have been attached as a writer, director or writer/director to a development or production award from the BFI Filmmaking Fund or BFI NETWORK delivered to the BFI in the last two years
meet all requirements for the filmmaking team listed below

Eligibility of filmmaking team

When an individual works across two roles, they must meet the eligibility criteria for both roles (e.g. a writer/director must be a resident in England).

All team members must:

be over 18
be able to demonstrate a creative track record in film, television, documentary, theatre, or other art forms
- this could be film or screen-based projects produced independently without commercial or institutional funding, including student work
have completed full-time education no later than 12 weeks after the application deadline
- any student work (course materials, dissertations, final projects or examinations) must be fully completed no later than 12 weeks after the application deadline, and further years of study will not be considered
be fully available to carry out their role and not take on potentially conflicting roles on the same project
co-roles (i.e. co-directors, co-writers, co-producers) must meet the full eligibility of the core role

Eligibility of your project

We encourage applicants to carefully consider their level of experience when planning the scale of their project. Filmmakers new to narrative fiction storytelling should apply with shorter scripts, or equivalent document for immersive/VR or animation such as a storyboard.

All projects submitted must:

be a standalone fiction short film in live action, animation or immersive/VR
have an intended length of up to 15 minutes including credits
- we would expect your script, or equivalent document to be no longer than 16 pages including the title page
be original to your writer, and not an adaptation of third-party material
- writers can adapt their own previous work but must demonstrate that they have secured the rights to do so
- if your project is based on the writer’s pre-existing work, such as a short film, play, novel or short story, you must control the rights to it
be capable of obtaining a BBFC certificate that is no more restrictive than BBFC ‘18’
- VR or immersive projects (which are not subject to BBFC certification), must be capable of meeting an 18 or equivalent rating if the content was to be presented within a traditional short film format
be capable of qualifying for certification as a British film (your own assessment of your project as being capable of qualifying for certification does not mean that it will necessarily pass)
- if you need advice as to whether your project is capable of qualifying, contact certifications@bfi.org.uk before applying
have secured, or have a contractual right to secure, certain necessary rights to complete the project including:
- the rights (including any underlying rights) in the story you are proposing
  - this includes use of any necessary archive or journalistic material or, adaptations of writer’s own work (but not works created by any other third party as this would be ineligible)
  - you’ll be required to provide written evidence of securing all such rights prior to any funding offer or payment of any award from the BFI
- all third-party clearance rights, including music for your project, for worldwide use in all media, in perpetuity, before it forms part of your script, or is included in the project (this is to ensure that you do not infringe any third-party rights whenever or wherever you show the film)
not have commenced or finished principal photography or be in post-production

When your project is ineligible

You’re not eligible to apply for this funding if your project:

includes any character based on a real individual
- ideas can be inspired by real events but all characters must be entirely fictional
is a documentary
focuses on another art form such as literature, dance on film, poetry on film, opera or artists’ moving image
adapts an existing work (fiction or non-fiction) that was not written by the writer (adaptations of the writer’s work are permitted as described above)
- apart from in exceptional cases involving archive or journalistic material as described above
is intended primarily for broadcast television

Get in touch with the team if you’re unsure if you are eligible for this funding by emailing bfinetworkfunding@bfi.org.uk.

4. How much you can apply for

You can apply for funding from £5,000 to £25,000.

This fund is highly competitive, and you should bear this in mind when deciding what level of award you’ll need to deliver your project.

We encourage applicants to carefully consider their level of experience when deciding the scale of project and the amount of funding to apply for. If you are working with a new director, i.e. if they are moving into filmmaking from a different medium for example, theatre, or if they haven’t yet directed a fiction short film you should consider applying for a lower amount with a shorter script.

Co-finance

You do not have to raise third party finance (also known as co-finance) for your project if you are able to make it with the amount of funding you are requesting from the BFI.

If third party funding is raised in addition to the BFI award, the following guidance on co-finance amount should be considered:

if requesting £5,000 to £20,000 from the BFI, co-finance should make up a maximum of 40% of the overall budget
if requesting £20,000 to £25,000 from the BFI, co-finance should make up a maximum of 30% of the overall budget

If you intend to raise third party finance but haven’t yet secured it when you apply, you must show us an achievable plan for securing these funds.

Please note we do not consider a UK tax credit loan as third party funding.

If we recommend your application for funding, we’ll be in touch with a deadline for securing any co-finance and what documentation is required to evidence it.

We may accept different levels of co-finance to those listed above on a discretionary and non-precedential basis.

5. What you can use the funding for

Costs we can support

We can support the following costs (which must be listed as part of your budget where applicable):

all costs you expect to incur in order to complete and deliver the film
the costs of clearing all rights required (including music) for the project, for worldwide use in all media, in perpetuity on a full buy-out basis (except PRS payments for music as they cannot be bought outright)
the costs of working with environmentally sustainable suppliers throughout all stages of production (you can look at BAFTA albert’s list of sustainable suppliers)
- when preparing your budget, consider including sustainable production practice such as
  - sourcing renewable energy
  - increasing travel by train and other public or shared transport
  - catering using local, seasonal ingredients
  - using different and less environmentally impactful materials
  - choosing sustainable solutions for digital storage and post-production
crew payments at least in line with the London Living Wage (or equivalent) with parity across grades and across departments
cast payments, at least in line with equity minimum (including any cast buy-out fees)
a fee for your film’s producer, director and writer (including writer/directors and writer/producers)
- this fee must at least be in line with other Heads of Department (HODs) on the project, or in line with cast and crew wages for shoot days
- this is the minimum requirement, but you can include higher fees
- fees cannot be waived or deferred
adequate provision for unit publicity, stills and footage
reasonable external legal fees to cover the costs of your production legal services, including in relation to clearing all third-party rights
- successful applicants will receive a pack of template agreements from the BFI (covering the writer, director, individual producer, cast, crew, locations, music composer) for use on your project
all customary production insurances on which the BFI must be named as a loss payee
all delivery materials required by the BFI including enhanced access materials — check list of delivery materials for funded projects
a minimum 10% contingency to cover any unforeseen costs
sufficient allowance for accounting and audit costs including those related to the final audit and, if you intend to apply, for the UK tax credit for the production
up to £750 towards the costs of festival submissions or equivalent exhibition opportunities for the completed work
any disability access support you require to complete your project (see access support costs below)

Costs we cannot support

We cannot provide funding for:

core costs for day-to-day running of your production company which are not associated with the film
activity that is already specifically supported by another external source of funding
costs incurred prior to an offer of funding from the BFI

This list is not exhaustive, and we may inform you that other types of activity identified in your application may not be included in your production budget.

Access support costs

If you or your team have access needs that will incur additional costs during work on your project, you can include these costs in your application. Funding can cover specific support for individuals who are disabled or have a physical or mental health diagnosis which will result in a verifiable additional cost to the project budget. If you require support for such costs, please identify them in your application budget. If you are already seeking the maximum award amount and have not been able to cover access-related costs within that, we may increase the maximum award amount to provide for reasonable access costs.

Budget spreadsheet

As part of your application, you must complete a budget spreadsheet, preferably using the template supplied.

When preparing the budget, you should consider that:

not all cost types will be relevant to your project, and you only need to include estimated amounts for costs you think you’ll need to cover while making your film at this stage
in-kind contributions (i.e. for resources, locations or time) must be clearly identified in your budget
your project must be produced in accordance with all applicable UK laws, including in relation to cast and crew payments
- you will need to demonstrate that cast and crew are being fairly paid

The template budget spreadsheet can be accessed below:

BFI NETWORK production budget templateMicrosoft Office - OOXML - Spreadsheet121 KB

If you’re unsure of how to use the spreadsheet or have any questions about your budget, contact your local film hub or email bfinetworkfunding@bfi.org.uk.

6. What your project needs to achieve

Key Performance Indicators

The BFI will measure the success of BFI NETWORK England short film funding using the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which funded projects will contribute to:

number of projects supported – 25
number of applications received – 600
applications received from outside of London and the Southeast (in terms of director location) – 50%
funded projects completing carbon footprinting – 100%
funded projects taking part in dedicated training in environmental sustainability for film – 90%

Equity, diversity and inclusion

We ask applicants to address equity, diversity and inclusion by engaging with the BFI Diversity Standards for film.

We will prioritise projects that will make a significant contribution to improving equity, diversity and inclusion across the industry and so your application will need to make clear, specific commitments to making this change. If successful, you’ll need to report following the conclusion of your activity, evaluating how you’ve delivered against the aims of the Diversity Standards in practice.

Your project will contribute towards achieving our inclusion targets for producers, writers and directors supported.

UK-wide

Our funding supports national, regional, and local activity to ensure that communities throughout the UK feel the benefit of the screen industries and culture.

Projects should address, and contribute to delivering, against the BFI’s UK-wide principle. You can do this through considering where your project will be set and any plans for engaging local communities when it goes into production.

Environmental sustainability

You’ll need to outline how environmental sustainability principles will be embedded into your production from development stage onwards. This includes:

reducing carbon emissions as much as possible
minimising negative impacts and maximising environmental benefits

Key areas to address in your planning and application include: energy, transport, food, materials use, biodiversity, and influencing change.

If your project is funded, you’ll need to:

have at least one of the creative team (writer, director, or producer) complete a relevant BAFTA albert Academy workshop
- we also recommend that relevant crew members take part in a relevant BAFTA albert Academy workshop to strengthen your team’s sustainability efforts
complete carbon footprinting via BAFTA albert carbon calculator, which must be started in pre-production

Additionally, you can also choose to apply for BAFTA albert certification by creating a Carbon Action Plan. This formally recognises that you’ve taken action to produce your project in a more sustainable way.

If you’re funded, we’ll also send you a range of tools, resources, and training to support you in making your BFI-backed production more sustainable.

7. How to apply

BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund opening and closing dates are on our website.

We can only make awards to projects that have been submitted to us through the online application process. This means that we cannot accept or read application materials submitted by any means other than the online application portal.

Information you’ll need to provide

Applicant details – Lead producer

You’ll need to provide your contact details. You must apply using your legal name but if you have an artist name, or another name that you’d like us to address you by, please include this using the following format: ‘Legal Name (aka ‘Artist Name’)’.

You can also include details of an additional contact to be copied in on project correspondence.

We will ask you some questions on your eligibility. You can find the criteria in the eligibility of applicant section of these guidelines.

Organisation details

If you are applying with a company, you’ll need to provide your organisation details such as:

full registered company name
company registration number
link to registration website (e.g. Companies House)

If you’re not listed as Managing Director, you need to attach an employment contract between you and the company to the application

Team information

CV summaries for core team (i.e. producer(s), writer(s) and director(s)) and any co-writers, co-directors and co-producers
links to one relevant previous work from each core team member and a brief explanation as to why you’ve included this work
- viewing links must not expire, nor need a subscription or a login and be provided with passwords (if applicable)
- we may decide not to review all of these before making a decision

Project information

your project’s title or working title
your project’s logline
proposed pre-production dates
proposed principal photography dates
story outline – full storyline, including reveals and ending
director’s creative vision for the film (written or video statement)
impact statement for the film (written or video statement)
career progression statement (written or video statement)
production proposal (written or video statement) 
statement about project’s UK-wide and regional impact 
statement about project’s environmental sustainability 
details of any previous funding you have applied for from the BFI, including BFI NETWORK or any applications awaiting a decision

Supporting materials

Optional links to materials expressing your ideas for your project, for example:

mood board or taster reel
production design
images

We strongly encourage you to include something that will give us an understanding of your director’s visual ideas for the film.

Finance and budget

This section will ask for:

the amount of funding you are seeking from the BFI
the total cost of the project
any access costs you want to apply for
your case for National Lottery good cause support
details of any other finance you have secured, or will need to secure, in order to make your project

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – BFI Diversity Standards

This section asks you to describe how your project responds to the BFI Diversity Standards for film.

As well as this information being used to form part of our assessment, information may be anonymised and aggregated as part of overall statistics published about the Diversity Standards and inform future policy.

Documents you’ll need to attach

At the end of the form, you’ll need to attach:

a completed production budget preferably using our template which includes:
- the full budget for your project
- a finance plan showing any third party finance you intend to raise for your project
the full script (not a treatment or outline) for your project in standard industry format, submitted as a PDF or Word document and dated on the front page
- if your project has a format that doesn’t lend itself to regular script presentation (for example, animation, immersive, XR or VR), or you have an alternative medium of expression you would like to use (for example, because you’re neurodivergent and work more visually), you can submit your ideas in your preferred medium
- for example, applications for an animated short may submit a storyboard instead of a script
proof of address for your director or writer/director (we use the director’s postcode to determine which BFI NETWORK region will assess your application)
- this must be a Council Tax bill, bank statement or utility bill dated in the past three months, showing your name and address
- other personal details such as bank details or other personal information of third parties should be redacted
permission from your regional BFI NETWORK Talent Executive to resubmit your project if resubmitting a proposal from a previous funding round (if applicable)

We will retain your data and supporting materials in line with our records retention policy.

Equality monitoring

You’ll be asked to complete an equality monitoring form when you submit your application. The data that you submit on this form will be confidential and anonymous and will not be seen by the staff assessing your application. It requests information about you and your team. When filling it in, you can select ‘prefer not to say’ if you’d rather not share the information requested. Please note that we will not be able to put forward your application for assessment until you have completed the equality monitoring form.

Submitting an application

You need to create an account to make your application online. You can save your application and return to it later.

Make sure you complete all of the sections, as incomplete applications are ineligible and will be declined.

Please consult the PDF preview of the application form to see the questions you will be asked in full:

BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund application previewPDF461 KB

Get access support with your application

You can get help if you need support to apply for funding. You might need support because you are disabled, neurodivergent or for another reason. Please go to Access support to apply for BFI Funds for more information.

For general guidance about how to use our new BFI applicant portal:

Applicant guide for using the new portalPDF961 KB

If you have any questions when completing the application form, please contact us on bfinetworkfunding@bfi.org.uk. We welcome your feedback on the application process and how we might improve it.

Start your application

8. What happens after you apply

We’ll send you confirmation that we have received your application within five working days. If you have not received an email from us within five working days (and have checked in your junk folder for it), please email Grant.Admin@bfi.org.uk.

We will then check whether your application is eligible for funding using the criteria identified in the Check if you’re eligible section. If your application does not meet our eligibility criteria, we will email to tell you that we will not be able to consider it.

If you have passed initial eligibility checks, the BFI will confirm by email that your application will progress to assessment and a unique ID number will be assigned to the application.

Eligibility checks continue throughout the assessment process and we may tell you at a later stage in the assessment process that your application is ineligible.

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed by at least two people against how well it meets the aims of the funding. An external reader will assess the sections of the form relating to your experience, the story, and its development, while a member of the BFI NETWORK talent team, based in the region where your director is located, will assess the full application.

We will also consider:

the strength of the project proposal and its script (or other submitted materials)
how the story might connect with audiences
the impact of your (and any team member’s) previous work
the strength of the project team
the strength of the case made for any potential career impact for the filmmaking team
your demonstration of need for National Lottery funding. Our funding is not intended to substitute or replace existing or commercial funding or other income that would or might otherwise be available. National Lottery funds can only be awarded to applicants who demonstrate a compelling case for National Lottery support.
the feasibility of the budget, its value for money and whether the project as described in the application requires the amount of money requested from the BFI
the overall balance of projects receiving support, to ensure variety in the nature of the projects funded by the BFI
any previous BFI awards you have received, including any open awards and how you have managed them
- We will not generally prioritise applications from producers who have received more than 4 formal offers of BFI NETWORK National Lottery funding for short film production or early development within the last 5 years.

We may share parts of your application with other BFI teams, or further external consultants, to help with our assessment. All external consultants helping with the assessment process will maintain confidentiality and not retain any application materials after their review.

Assessment process and timeline

As the regional hubs all handle a different volumes of applications, the assessment timelines can vary per region, and the assessment steps may not happen at the same time across the regions.

If we receive an exceptionally high number of applications, require additional information from you, or if there are other circumstances beyond our control, the assessment period may be extended.

We will keep you updated on any changes to timeframes.

In the event the assessment period is extended, the proposed start date of principal photography of the film should be extended accordingly.

If we contact you during the assessment process to discuss your project, including requests to update documents, or fix broken links, this does not indicate any commitment to fund your project.

Step one – initial assessment and regional longlisting

Applications are assessed by an external reviewer and a regional BFI NETWORK talent hub representative. Applications that most strongly meet the aims of the funding and assessment criteria will progress to the next step.

Step two – regional shortlisting

The regional BFI NETWORK talent hubs will share a longlist of projects with the central BFI NETWORK team to create a shortlist of projects. Non-shortlisted applicants are notified in writing that they have been unsuccessful.

Step three – regional interviews

Shortlisted applicants are invited to interview with the BFI NETWORK talent hub in the region where their director is based. After the interview, we may request further information, or schedule a further meeting to discuss the project.

Step four – due diligence checks

All applicants are informed in writing whether their application is unsuccessful, or recommended for approval.

All applicants being recommended for approval must complete an ID verification check:

you will receive an email inviting you to fill out a form where you need to provide your personal address, date of birth and contact details.
if the lead applicant is applying under a production company, they will need to be listed as the Managing Director of the organisation or be a permanent employee of the company
we will only use this data to run an identity check (this is not a credit check and will not affect your ability to obtain credit from other organisations).

The ID verification check is not an indication of funding.

Step five – BFI Grant & Lottery Finance Committee G/LFC

Each project that is being recommended for funding must be presented to and be formally approved by the BFI Grant & Lottery Finance Committee (G/LFC).

To ensure we have all the information needed for presenting your project to G/LFC, you will need to send the following paperwork to your assigned Talent Executive(s):

a finalised budget, preferably using the supplied budget template
- we may request that you amend specific lines or allocations on your budget, before we make a final recommendation
- we may also offer you a different amount to the one you’ve requested in your application
any proof of secured co-finance (including in-kind contributions)
- letters of intent and draft agreements from third-party funders detailing at a minimum: contribution amount; any conditions attached; and whether funding is recoupable
- letters of intent (LOIs) for in-kind contributions
- bank statements evidencing co-finance in the producer’s bank account
  - if applying with a production company, bank statements must be provided showing funds are held in a bank account in the name of the production company
the production schedule for the project

We cannot present projects to G/LFC less than 8 weeks before your first day of principal photography as this time is needed for your pre-production and for us to finalise legal paperwork.

Please note if we have not received the necessary information within 12 months of the closing date of the funding call, we will decline your application unless there are extenuating circumstances.

9. Getting a decision

The BFI Grant & Lottery Finance Committee will approve or decline the recommendations made by the BFI NETWORK team.

Applicants whose projects have been recommended to G/LFC are notified in writing whether they have been approved or declined.

The BFI’s decision as to whether it wishes to support your application is final.

If you’re unsuccessful

This is an extremely competitive fund and due to the limited amount of funding we have available, we have to decline the majority of applications, even those that strongly meet the aims of the funding. We understand that this is disappointing, and we aim to communicate this carefully, but it’s also important to emphasise for all applicants ahead of submission.

We may have declined your application because we determined that your proposal:

did not sufficiently meet our aims of the funding, including in relation to engagement with the BFI Diversity Standards
was too ambitious for the budget
did not demonstrate enough relevant experience on the part of the core team members
was not yet developed enough
did not demonstrate sufficient need for National Lottery support and should be financed by other means

Feedback

We aim to provide feedback where possible while balancing this with the resources available. We review the level of feedback we can offer each funding round.

Unless you opt out of receiving feedback, we will provide the assessment considerations for your application and, where feasible, brief constructive comments.

The volume of applications assessed by the London hub means that projects not progressing beyond step one will receive assessment considerations only.

Due to the high level of applications we receive we cannot enter into dialogue about your project or its further development.

We will retain the data and supporting materials you submitted to us in line with our records retention policy.

Resubmissions

If your application has been declined, you usually cannot resubmit it for future rounds of the fund. We may allow a resubmission if:

the original application was voluntarily withdrawn before a decision was made
a BFI NETWORK Talent Executive approved resubmission and the project has undergone significant changes to your previous proposal such as:
- a change of director
- a significant rewrite of the material
- a change of producer
  - teams will need to evidence that all of the necessary rights have been cleared, and that a clean chain of title can be provided before it can be resubmitted

If a BFI NETWORK Talent Executive has granted permission to submit a new application for a project from a previous funding round, you must upload the email confirming this approval as part of your application.

If you’re successful

Following formal G/LFC approval for your project, we will contact you to let you know your funding has been approved.

Your assigned BFI NETWORK Talent Executive will be in touch to request the following documents which will form part of your production finance agreement (PFA) with the BFI:

final production calendar and schedule
one-line shooting schedule
locked and dated script
confirmation of certain contract specifications for your project including (but not limited to):
- confirmed HODs, cast, delivery date and format
bank details request form
- an invitation to fill in this form will be sent to you via email
- you will need to provide details of your bank account which should be from a bank regulated in the UK
- this bank account must be held by you (the awardee and lead producer)
- when applying through a production company, the bank account must be held by the production company and you as lead producer must be an authorised signatory
- we cannot accept a producer’s personal bank account or a bank account held by a third-party
- this form will ask you to provide details such as a sort code, account number and name of account.
- we will only use this data to process payments. This isn’t a credit check and will not affect your ability to receive credit from other organisations

The PFA is a legal document that explains, among other things, how:

you’ll receive the funding
you must use it
we expect you to report to us

Once signed by all parties (including the BFI) the PFA will form a legally binding contract between you (or your company) and us. An assigned BFI NETWORK Talent Executive will act as the BFI representative for your project. They will provide creative input and oversight and will be your main point of contact. You will be invited to take part in training and professional development events as part of your award, attendance at some of which will be mandatory.

BFI National Lottery Funding is project-based, time-limited funding, and as such, there should be no expectation of ongoing support beyond the term of the award. Receiving a Short Film Fund award does not mean you will automatically be eligible for, or be more likely to receive, support from other BFI funds.

Additional funding

In exceptional circumstances, such as when a film encounters unexpected challenges during production, we may offer to provide additional funding, subject to approval by G/LFC. If we deem additional funding as necessary, and we have sufficient funds available, we will ask you to submit a short additional application for the amount required.

10. Conditions of funding

If your application for funding is successful then, in addition to the General Conditions of National Lottery Funding, the following conditions will apply to your award. These will be set out in more detail in your production finance agreement (PFA):

The award will take the form of a non-recoupable grant.
You must include specified credits and logos for BFI NETWORK, our Film Hub partners and the National Lottery in the opening and closing credits for the project.
A Talent Executive in your director’s region will provide creative input and oversight of your project and will be your main point of contact as you produce your project.
Subject to reasonable notice provided by the BFI, you may be required to attend training and professional development events as part of your award. 
You must establish clear chain of title to your project i.e. demonstrate you have or can acquire all the rights necessary to produce and exploit the project and provide evidence of such (for example, writer and development agreements) before we advance any funding. Where chain of title documentation is in a language other than English, you will be required to provide a certified English translation.
You must provide a legal undertaking that the work being funded is wholly original to you and your team and you will be required to clear worldwide rights in all media in perpetuity from all individuals and/or organisations who are contributing to, or whose material is to be featured in, the project on a full buy-out basis (save only for music public performance rights which are not capable of being fully bought-out).
You will not have allowed and nor will allow the creation of any type of charge, third party security, interest or other arrangement of any kind with any creditor in respect of the project, the copyright and the delivery materials, other than as set out in the PFA.
The BFI will require certain approvals over your project including all key production and financial documentation prepared in relation to the project. You must obtain approval from BFI for the following before any BFI funding is released to you:

final script
all main production elements including key crew, key casting and final credits
if applying as a company, a fully executed inducement letter from the lead producer (and company director if lead producer is an employee) using a template that we will provide to you
evidence that all other finance required to meet your final budget has been secured, including copies of the BFI pre-approved fully executed agreements under which such other finance is to be provided
evidence that a risk assessment for the project has been conducted
copies of all production insurance policies for the project naming the BFI as a loss payee and confirmation that the applicable premiums are within the budget

In addition, the BFI will require certain approvals during the production including over each cut of the film, delivery materials; rights documentation, and any changes to the budget and main elements as set out in the PFA.

The BFI will take rights as outlined in the PFA and in point 11 below. The BFI normally agrees to delay its entitlement to exercise these rights to allow a period of festival exhibition for the project and to maximise audience reach. We will agree a release strategy with you that takes in both festival and online exhibition.
You will be required to provide a permanent, non-exclusive license to the BFI to copy, reproduce and / or exhibit the project: (a) non-theatrically including, without limitation, in educational establishments (including the BFI Mediatheque) or online on the BFI websites (including BFI Player) throughout the world; and (b) the right to use clips from the project for promotional purposes in relation to the project or in relation to promoting BFI National Lottery funding. The BFI will own the delivery materials provided to us and may (but not obligated to) deposit, preserve and permit access to such materials through standard terms applied by the BFI National Archive.
A delivery date by which you agree to complete your project and submit the required delivery materials to us. We require all projects supported to be completed and delivered by the delivery date agreed in their PFA, and in all circumstances, no more than 12 months after signature of their PFA.
A cashflow that breaks down the award total into instalments, with the final payment being subject to submission to us of the delivery materials. The majority of the award is generally paid by way of an initial instalment (for example, of 90%), with a final instalment of the balance being paid upon receipt by us of all required delivery materials. Any underspend on the award will be retained by, or reimbursed to, the BFI.
You will be required to ensure that your project is produced in accordance with the requirements of all unions and guilds having jurisdiction and with all applicable laws and statutes.
You will be required to adhere to and promote the set of principles aimed at tackling and preventing bullying, harassment and racism in the screen industries commissioned by the BFI and partner organisations. This entails taking active steps to help tackle and prevent bullying, harassment and racism in the screen industries and, in particular, in connection with the funded project.

You will be required to provide certain delivery materials to the BFI, the costs of which must be included in the budget for the project.

A requirement to undertake BAFTA albert carbon foot printing for the project, in both pre- and post-production.
If the project involves you working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults, you will ensure that you have in place safeguarding and child protection measures and will abide by those.
As the support provided by BFI NETWORK is only possible because of the National Lottery, we require you to do everything you can to acknowledge the National Lottery as the source of this funding. This includes displaying the National Lottery logo in your film’s end credits, in related marketing materials and press releases, and on the front pages of project and organisational websites. We ask beneficiaries to actively acknowledge and spread the word about their project being made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, whenever they can. This includes mentioning the National Lottery, at a minimum, on press releases, on print and marketing materials, online including through social media, and when speaking to the industry and the wider public about the project.
You will need to deliver against the plans 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.
You will be required to submit an Equality Monitoring Report at the end of the project. This will request information on the contributors to your project and where applicable, will be used to measure success against the BFI Diversity Standards.
You will be required to keep the BFI updated on the progress of your project, including submitting written production and cost reports after both principal photography and final delivery of the project. BFI representatives must also be able to attend any stage of production.
You will be required to ensure that any agreement for the distribution of your production in the UK provides for the availability of soft-subtitling and audio-description materials in cinemas and on any video-on-demand, DVD or Blu-ray disc release of the production.
VAT is not payable on any BFI NETWORK England Short Film Funding awards. The total BFI award provided is outside the scope of VAT and the BFI award is fully inclusive of any and all taxes that may be payable in connection with the granting, receipt or use of the BFI award. Producers will need to deduct any such taxes out of the BFI award and under no circumstances will the BFI be required to pay any additional sums in respect of such taxes.
Any third-party funding must be secured before the BFI’s final approval of funding via its Grant & Lottery Finance Committee. No work may commence on the film until this funding is secured, its terms and conditions approved by BFI, and all other pre-conditions to the BFI award have been met.
The BFI will not advance any funding until you have signed the PFA and complied with all the conditions of funding set out above and as further detailed in the PFA.

11. List of delivery materials for funded projects

The cost of the following delivery materials for funded projects must be contained in the production budget for your project.

A more detailed list of delivery materials will be provided to projects that receive BFI NETWORK funding.

Film and video materials (for live action and animation projects)

an unencrypted SMPTE DCP
a Pro Res 4444 or XQ QuickTime (.mov) file
a H264 .mov or .mp4 file
a Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM)

If your project is immersive/VR, we will discuss your specific materials delivery requirements with you at the point of issuing you a funding agreement.

Enhanced access materials

We’re committed to ensuring that the cinema experience is open to all. Our funding therefore requires that your film is delivered with subtitles and audio description and that:

the availability of these materials is publicised
they are made available in time for any screenings of the film

You’ll need to include both:

open captions (English)
audio description (AD) track

Publicity materials

a selection of approved publicity stills
a selection of ‘Behind the Scenes’ stills taken from the film
film and team written information

Documentation

a final cost report
a release plan
a BAFTA albert carbon calculator report
- comprised of pre- and post-production calculations and submitted via the albert website
PDF copies of all clearance agreements including
- artists agreement(s)
- producer, director and writer agreement(s)
- contributors’ agreements:
  - all Heads of Department (at minimum): DOP, Sound Recordist, Editor, Art Director/Production Designer, Sound Designer (if applicable)),
  - music contributors agreement, along with a copy of the music cue sheet
- any other clearance documentation required to clear all rights in the project
an equality monitoring report submitted online
- will request information on the contributors to your project and will be used to measure success against the BFI Diversity Standards

Applying for BFI NETWORK England short film funding

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