GRANT
BFI Filmmaking Fund — Impact Feature Funding
BFI (National Lottery)
Last verified 5 Apr 2026 · 14 days ago
£500K–£1.3M
Cap per project
£1.3M
Min qualifying spend
£1M
Sessions/year
4
Reliability
Fair
Bankability
Not bankable
Funding tracks
Experienced Directors
Directors with at least one commercial feature film credit or established career in TV/theatre
£500,000 - £1,250,000
Debut Directors
Directors who haven't directed a feature with £1M+ budget that was commercially distributed in UK/Ireland
£500,000 - £1,250,000
Territorial spend requirement
Must qualify as British film through cultural test or official co-production
Overview
These guidelines give you the information you’ll need to apply for BFI National Lottery Impact Feature Funding.
Eligible formats
feature filmdocumentaryshort film
Eligibility
Experienced directors: £1-15M budget; Debut directors: £3.5-15M budget; Must be submitted 20 weeks before principal photography; Requires sales agent letter; Must qualify as British film; Maximum funding £1.25M
● Co-production eligible● Cultural test required● VFX eligible
Upcoming deadlines
1 Jul 2026Application deadline
30 Jul 2026Application deadline
12 Nov 2026Application deadline
16 Dec 2026Application deadline
Source: BFI (National Lottery) · verified 5 Apr 2026