Film London has awarded funding to 8 projects/organisations through its Cultural Film Exhibition Fund and Community Pilot Fund.

Film London has handed out funding of £43,000 to 8 London based projects/organisations through the BFI backed Cultural Film Exhibition Fund (CFEF) and Community Pilot Fund (CPF).

The awards were made after a call for entries in September this year. The two funds are aimed at increasing access to cinema for under-represented audiences and offering non-mainstream cultural film experiences across the UK capital.

Projects to receive grants through the Cultural Film Exhibition Fund:

City Screen - £8,670 to help the independent cinema chain launch Access Cinema, a programme to improve provision for disabled audiences in London.

London Indian Film Festival - £10,000 for itsthird edition to be held in June 2012.

The Palestine Film Festival - £5000 towards its 2012 edition, which runs in April.

London International Animation Festival - £7000 for its 2012 edition, which runs in October.

Projects to each receive a fixed grant of £3000 through the Community Pilot Fund are:

Little Joe, a biannual publication specialised in alternative and cult film.

Council of Asian People in Haringey for its Screen Film Society, Wood Green to programme screenings and discussions of films from the South of Asia.

The Bread and Roses Centennial Film Festival by studioSTRIKE, a programme of films in Lambeth to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1912 textile workers strike.

The Lexi Cinema, a social enterprise in Brent.

Adrian Wootton, chief executive of Film London said: “Our funds for audience development initiatives are a key part of what Film London does and now more than ever, they provide vital streams of income to sustain and nurture film exhibition activity in our city.”