Choose a funder for your creative project

Guide summary

Ask what you are making, where it is based and whether you are at development, production or distribution stage
Apply to the BFI at least 20 weeks before the first day of principal photography
For BFI development funding, you need a limited company registered at Companies House
Show other finance in a BFI application; a UK tax credit loan does not count as third-party funding
Filter Innovation Funding Service competitions by the innovation area Creative industries
Apply to Screen Scotland's Production Growth Fund at least 12 weeks before principal photography in Scotland
For Ffilm Cymru, Creative Wales funds need at least £6 of Welsh spend for every £1 offered
Check Northern Ireland Screen's funding page before applying, as awards and deadlines change between rounds

Public money for creative work is split by what you are making and where you are based. Each funder sets its own eligibility rules, award sizes and deadlines, and changes them, so confirm them on the funder's own page before you start an application.

Match your project to a funder

Three questions narrow the field. What are you making: an arts project, a film or television programme, or new technology? Where is the work based? Are you at development, production or distribution stage? Once one funder fits on all three, read its guidelines in full and apply through its own online application.

Funders compared

Funder	What it funds	Who can apply
Arts Council England	Arts, museums and libraries projects, through National Lottery Project Grants	People and organisations in England
BFI	Development and production of feature films, plus short form, immersive and international co-production funding	Producers; development funding needs a limited company registered at Companies House
Innovate UK	Innovation projects, through competitions on the Innovation Funding Service	UK registered businesses; some competitions need a collaboration

Apply to the BFI for film funding

BFI Film Fund

BFI National Lottery funding for UK feature films. Discovery awards up to £1m for debut directors, Impact awards up to £1.25m. Production funding is recoupable and the film must be capable of qualifying as British.

Discovery feature funding: Up to £1,000,000 (debut directors, budget £1m to £3.5m)
Impact feature funding: Up to £1,250,000 (usually £500,000 to £850,000)
Impact production budget: £1m to £15m (experienced directors); £3.5m to £15m (debut directors)
Funding source: National Lottery
Applicant: UK-registered limited company, centrally managed in the UK
British film requirement: Capable of certification as a British film (cultural test) or official co-production
Recoupment: Production funding is recoupable by the BFI
Lead time: Apply at least 20 weeks before the first day of principal photography

The BFI Filmmaking Fund awards National Lottery funding to original live action and animated feature films. Discovery feature funding is for projects with debut directors; Impact feature funding is for experienced directors, and for debut directors with larger budgets. The BFI cannot fund the whole budget: applications must show other finance, and a UK tax credit loan does not count as third-party funding.

The BFI recoups its production investment from the film's revenues. A share of that recouped income is paid into a Locked Box account that the UK producer can reinvest in future projects.

Development funding

The BFI also awards recoupable National Lottery development funding for feature films, from treatments to production-ready screenplays. The award is repaid to the BFI no later than the first day of principal photography. Where a project has had £60,000 of BFI funding in total, it must show a clear route to production before it can apply for more. Applications are open all year apart from an annual closure in April.

Documentaries

Documentary funding is run separately, through the BFI Doc Society Fund.

BFI funding to create films, TV or new formats (opens in a new tab)

BFI Discovery and Impact feature funding (opens in a new tab)

Read the funding guidelines in full before you apply online. If you win, you must credit BFI National Lottery funding publicly and thank National Lottery players.

The BFI also funds short films, immersive screen projects and international co-productions through separate funds.

Apply to Innovate UK for creative technology

Innovate UK Creative Industries Funding

Innovate UK funds business innovation through competitions on the Innovation Funding Service, plus innovation loans, knowledge transfer partnerships and Contracts for Innovation. Creative businesses apply on the same terms as any other sector.

Funder: Innovate UK (part of UKRI)
Funding routes: Grants, innovation loans, knowledge transfer partnerships, Contracts for Innovation
How grants are awarded: Through funding competitions, each with its own scope and rules
Where to apply: Innovation Funding Service
Knowledge transfer partnership: Work with an academic organisation and a graduate
Innovation loans: For SMEs with late-stage research and development projects

Innovate UK funds innovation and technology development rather than artistic content, so creative businesses apply on the same terms as any other sector. It publishes funding competitions as they are announced, each with its own scope, eligibility rules and funding level, which are set out in the competition brief. Some competitions are closed and for invited applicants only.

Beyond grants, Innovate UK offers knowledge transfer partnerships (a UK registered business or not-for-profit organisation works with an academic organisation and a highly qualified graduate), innovation loans for SMEs, and Contracts for Innovation, which are funded procurement contracts with government organisations.

Apply for innovation funding (opens in a new tab)

Innovation Funding Service competition search (opens in a new tab)

Innovate UK guidance for applicants (opens in a new tab)

Filter the competitions on the Innovation Funding Service by the innovation area Creative industries. Each competition states who can apply, how much funding is available and whether you must collaborate.

Combine funding with tax credits

A grant is rarely your only source of finance. A company making films, high-end television, children's television or animation can also claim Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit on expenditure incurred from 1 January 2024.

Screen Scotland Funding

Screen Scotland funds film, broadcast content and large-scale productions in Scotland. Film production awards usually £100,000 to £500,000; Production Growth Fund grants of £200,000 to £500,000 for productions with at least £2m of Scottish spend.

Film development (single project): £3,000 to £50,000
Film production: Usually £100,000 to £500,000
Broadcast development (single project): £10,000 to £50,000; up to £100,000 for a slate
Broadcast production: Usually £100,000 to £500,000; recoupable grant
Production Growth Fund: £200,000 to £500,000 grant
Production Growth Fund minimum Scottish spend: £2,000,000
Funding source: Scottish Government and the National Lottery, through Creative Scotland
Eligible applicants (film): Filmmakers based in Scotland
Eligible applicants (broadcast): Eligible Scottish production companies

Screen Scotland sits within Creative Scotland, with funding from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. It runs separate funds for film, broadcast content and large-scale productions filming in Scotland.

Film Development and Production Fund

Development and production funding for feature-length films and documentaries by filmmakers based in Scotland. Screen Scotland cannot fully fund the production costs of any project. Applicants first complete the BFI Diversity Standards (Screen Scotland pilot) questions on the BFI portal, then submit the Screen Scotland application form.

Broadcast Content Fund

Development and production funding for broadcast projects by eligible Scottish production companies, for all genres including factual and scripted programming. Funding is awarded as a recoupable grant.

Production Growth Fund

Grants for large-scale films and high-end television drama or factual returnable series that use Scottish crew, locations and facilities. The applicant must be a UK-registered production company, with a project in advanced development and financing that expects to start budgeted prep within 12 weeks of a decision. There are no deadlines: applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the fund is fully allocated in each financial year, and must be submitted at least 12 weeks before the first day of principal photography in Scotland.

Screen Scotland funding programmes (opens in a new tab)

Production Growth Fund (opens in a new tab)

Ffilm Cymru Wales Funding

Ffilm Cymru Wales funding for films led by Wales born or based filmmakers. Feature production awards of up to £600,000, short films up to £25,000, development up to £24,999. Production funding is partly recoupable.

Feature development: Up to £10,000 (small) or up to £24,999 (large)
Short films (Beacons): Up to £25,000, films of up to 15 minutes
Feature production: Up to £600,000 (most £150,000 to £400,000)
Share of budget: Investment not expected to exceed 50%
Funding source: National Lottery funds via Arts Council of Wales; Welsh Government funds via Creative Wales
Welsh-language features: Sinema Cymru, with S4C and Creative Wales
Welsh connection: Wales born or based lead writer, producer or director
Applicant company: Registered and centrally managed in the UK, led by the producer
Recoupment: Some or all of production funding is recoupable

Ffilm Cymru Wales invests in live-action, documentary and animated films led by Wales born or based writers, directors and producers. Its production fund combines National Lottery funds delegated through Arts Council of Wales with Welsh Government funds delegated through Creative Wales.

Production funding

Production funding is for a single feature-length film or documentary intended for cinema, with a viable plan to be fully financed within six months. Ffilm Cymru cannot fully finance a project. An award usually combines recoupable equity (National Lottery funding) and grant funding (Creative Wales capital funding), with the balance set by the estimated Welsh spend. Creative Wales funds require at least £6 of Welsh spend for every £1 offered; where Welsh spend is marginal, Ffilm Cymru is unlikely to offer more than £200,000.

There are no strict deadlines for production funding. Applications for £50,000 or more go to the next available Board meeting.

Welsh-language features

Sinema Cymru is a collaboration between S4C, the Welsh Government through Creative Wales, and Ffilm Cymru to support Welsh-language feature films with international big screen potential. It has its own development awards and opens for applications at set times.

Ffilm Cymru Wales feature film production (opens in a new tab)

Ffilm Cymru Wales film development and production (opens in a new tab)

Northern Ireland Screen Funding

Northern Ireland Screen funding programmes for film, television, animation and games in Northern Ireland. Check its funding page for current fund sizes and rules.

Funder: Northern Ireland Screen
Covers: Film, television, animation and games in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland and runs funding programmes for film, television, animation and games. Fund names, award sizes, eligibility and deadlines are set out on its funding page and change between rounds, so check it before applying.

Northern Ireland Screen funding (opens in a new tab)

Legal basis

Primary legislation and key regulations

National Lottery Act 1993 Primary 1993 · UK-wide Higher Education and Research Act 2017 Primary 2017 · UK-wide

Browse UK legislation legislation.gov.uk

Official guidance

Ffilm Cymru Wales funding (opens in a new tab)

ffilmcymruwales.com · Wales

BFI funding to create films, TV or new formats (opens in a new tab)

www.bfi.org.uk

Innovation Funding Service portal (opens in a new tab)

GOV.UK

BFI Film Fund (opens in a new tab)

www.bfi.org.uk

Arts Council England Project Grants (opens in a new tab)

www.artscouncil.org.uk · England

Northern Ireland Screen funding (opens in a new tab)

www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk · Northern Ireland

Ffilm Cymru Wales funding (opens in a new tab)

ffilmcymruwales.com · Wales

Screen Scotland funding programmes (opens in a new tab)

www.screen.scot · Scotland

Apply for innovation funding (opens in a new tab)

GOV.UK

Create Growth Programme: outputs and evaluation (opens in a new tab)

DCMS

Choose a funder for your creative project

Match your project to a funder

Apply to the BFI for film funding

Apply to Innovate UK for creative technology

Combine funding with tax credits

Legal basis

Official guidance

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