Film Funding

We generally do not fund the development or production of films, however if you are a short filmmaker then we do have a short films submission scheme which may be able to offer some support.

If you or your film have been accepted onto our short film submission scheme you can request a travel grant. However, we cannot guarantee a grant will be provided for all requests and we are only able to accept requests for travel to festivals which are on our list of supported festivals. You can view the supported festivals list here.

In practice, when we receive a travel grant request, a decision is normally made based on the following considerations:

• do we have any funds for that particular event?
• has the festival specifically requested the film-maker's attendance (i.e. are they being asked to take part in any panel discussions/workshops etc.), or is the invitation more casual? (i.e 'it'll be nice to see you if you can make it out to the festival, but not essential' )
• how many travel grants have already been awarded to the individual (3 maximum in a year - we keep a record!)
• in the interests of fairness, filmmakers who haven't received a grant from us will often be given priority over those who have (unless the festival has specified who they'd like us to fund). It should be noted though that the 'first come, first served' principle often plays a part in the decision making process too.

Please look at our short films submission scheme for more information on the support that you can get from the British Council.

Britfilms, our specialist film resource, provides additional information on non-British Council sources of funding.