The BFI has announced its latest UK Global Screen Fund awards.
Financed through the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the awards allocate over £1.64 million through the fund’s International Co-production, International Distribution and International Business Development strands.
The latest round of International Co-production awards, which support UK producers to work as partners on international co-productions and help create new global projects, sees five UK independent companies collectively receiving over £763,000 to collaborate with seven territories: Sweden, Belgium, Iceland, USA, Canada, Switzerland and Ireland.
Four of the projects are feature films, including one documentary, and one is a TV documentary feature project.
To date, this strand has now awarded over £9.6 million to 62 co-productions, supporting partnerships with 34 territories.
The latest International Business Development awards, supporting business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming, see a further £104,600 allocated to two companies, totalling over £9 million and 110 awards to date in this strand.
A full round of International Business Development awards is set for announcement in the new year.
Additionally, 36 International Distribution awards totalling £776,772 have been made, supporting the promotion of UK independent feature films with grants allocated for Festival Launch Support and Prints & Advertising (P&A) Support.
Projects supported with P&A grants for the release of a single UK film across a grouping of at least four international territories include: Bird; Tornado; Urchin; The Thing with Feathers; Bring Them Down and Hot Milk.
Chaplin | Spirit of The Tramp becomes the first documentary to receive P&A funding through the new single-territory award for animation and documentary, with support towards its theatrical release in Japan.
Festival Launch grants supported titles premiering at Cannes Film Festival including Urchin, My Father’s Shadow and Pillion, the latter of which went on to sell extensively for Cornerstone following its premiere in Un Certain Regard.
A standout year for UK features and co-productions at Toronto International Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival saw 11 Festival Launch Support grants awarded to support premieres at Toronto, including Good Boy and Saipan, and five Festival Launch Support grants awarded to support premieres at Venice, including Orphan and 100 Nights of Hero.
To date, the International Distribution strand has made 148 awards totalling over £3.58 million.
Following the UK Government’s June announcement of the new Creative Industries Sector Plan, which sees the UK Global Screen Fund’s budget increase from £7m per year to £18m per year for 2026-29, fund planning is currently underway, including consultation with industry into its development and expansion, with plans due to be unveiled early next year.
Denitsa Yordanova, head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds, said: “This latest round of awards showcases the creativity and breadth of films, companies and strategies, all focused on international growth and success across co-production, distribution and business development.
“We look forward to continuing our work with government and consultation with industry to take forward plans for the future of the UK Global Screen Fund, supporting even more independent screen sector companies from across the UK to thrive and reach their full international potential.”
Productions to receive UK Global Screen Fund International Co-production awards are:
- Butterfly Stroke
- Monolith
- The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands
- West The Road
- Yuja
Companies to receive UK Global Screen Fund International Business Development awards, via the General track, are:
- Blue Pigeon Productions
- Slate Works
UK Global Screen Fund applications are now open, and assessed on a rolling basis, for:
- International Distribution Festival Launch Support
- International Distribution Prints & Advertising Support (P&A)
Applications for International Co-production funding will reopen in February, with International Business Development funding reopening in April.
More information is available on the BFI website.
