BFI Creative Challenge Fund reopens

The BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund reopens today seeking applications from UK screen organisations to create and deliver targeted project development programmes for features or immersive projects. Awarding between £12,000 to £150,000 per programme, applicants must respond to one of multiple challenges to create development labs to focus on: early career producers; independent producers with ambitious projects of scale; or emerging filmmakers with genre projects. The fund, which will invest a further £1.7m before March 2026, is now open on a rolling basis, and organisations can apply for short or long-term programmes.

The BFI Creative Challenge Fund was established to energise the development offer for UK independent filmmaking. By supporting organisations to devise and deliver labs and workshops, the fund aims to decentralise project development and stimulate a healthier and more diverse ecosystem for UK talent. The BFI seeks applicants who can create labs designed to maximise the chances of projects securing further development finance and/or financial support in the marketplace. Increasing the funding available, creative development projects supporting early career creatives working at pre-debut levels may be supported with funding from BFI NETWORK….