Film London announced today that it will be providing £70,000 worth of audience development funding over the coming year, the same amount available in 2010/11 despite recent cuts to its overall budget.

Applications are currently open for grants through two funds, the Cultural Film Exhibition Fund (CFEF), and the new Community Pilot Fund (CPF), with more to be announced later in the year. The CEFC, which is particularly aimed at established independent exhibitors and organisations, has funds available to put towards projects that present audiences in the capital with films that have a specific cultural relevance.

In the last year the CEFC has been responsible for funding projects such as the East End and London Indian Film Festivals, as well as the ongoing Scala Forever season. The newly-established Community Pilot Fund has been set up to support innovative grassroots initiatives in exhibition, education and archiving, with a particular interest in spreading the availability of such activity in London to as wide a geographical demographic as possible.

By making the application process for the CPF as simple as possible, Film London say they are hoping to attract interest from a broad range of organisations from across the capital.

Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission said: “Strong cultural film exhibition and education are the cornerstone of a vibrant cinema-going scene in any city and we are thrilled that, despite the challenging times, we have managed to maintain the same level of support for audience development activity in the capital as last year.”

Applications for the CFEF are open now until the 21st October 2011, with applications for the CPF open a week longer, closing on the 28th October 2011.