BFI Vision Awards

The BFI Vision Awards provide financial support to a diverse range of film producers around the UK to increase and strengthen their development slates. If you are an emerging filmmaker, apply for funding to build skills and experience to stand out.

The BFI Vision Awards focus on empowering a diverse range of ambitious film producers around the UK to build up and strengthen their development slates. The Awards aim to benefit the UK film sector by supporting producers to create slates of new projects that demonstrate ambition, risk taking and diverse voices. We will prioritise producers that have the greatest potential to contribute to the success of the industry, and who otherwise would not have the resources to focus on building a slate of such projects.

The producers receiving awards under the current scheme were confirmed in April 2020 when awards of up to £50,000 per year for 2 years were made. Priority was given to producers who have the greatest potential to contribute to the industry and would not otherwise have had the resources to focus on building a slate of ambitious projects.

The BFI Vision Awards are designed to enable emerging producers to: *build their development slate with an eye to defining themselves and their company identity. *take creative risks in new areas. *have the time needed to find and develop projects with solid production prospects. *seek out new and emerging writers and directors from across the UK. *build on existing relationships with writers and directors. *build or capitalise on pre-existing partnerships with other companies and/or producers. *reach a wider, more diverse audience for their work. *improve their business skills and commercial expertise, and *develop an on-going, sustainable and viable business after the end of the award term.

To encourage producers who would not be able to support themselves financially on a full-time basis while devoting themselves to developing their slate, 50% of the BFI Vision Award will be non-recoupable (i.e. it will not need to be repaid to the BFI). The remaining 50% will be recoupable by the BFI and may be available to the producer under the BFI Locked Box benefit for filmmakers, provided that this initiative is ongoing at the point of repayment.

We have allocated an overall £2.5 million to the BFI Vision Awards scheme, with a maximum company funding amount of £50,000 per year for two years. We may, in exceptional cases, (subject to this activity aligning with the BFI’s overarching strategy for 2022-2027) choose to award a third year of funding to producers who during their award term prove themselves in developing particularly challenging, ambitious or risky projects, and can make a case for needing continued support while projects move towards production.

In order to apply, producers need to have made one distributed feature film or TV series, and no more than three. All applicants need to have a demonstrable ability to drive a project through development to production. The BFI Vision Awards are open to individual producers operating through their own UK production company as well as producer partnerships, with a long-term plan to develop a career in film. Producers can be working in feature-length live action, animation and documentary; TV; and/or emerging media.