The British Film Institute (BFI) has opened an updated international distribution strand of the UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF), financed by the UK Government’s department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS).
Film sales and P&A support are both now availlable via a new twin-track approach.
Sales support is open for applications and assessed on a rolling basis. It is awarded to UK sales agents presenting UK independent films to international buyers with the aim of securing international distribution deals. Funding is available for specific sales and marketing activities, including the creation of eligible marketing materials. The maximum grant available per eligible film is £25,000, and films must be feature length and budgeted at less than £10m.
Prints and advertising support (P&A) is in final programme development and will be open for applications in the autumn. It is awarded to either the UK producer or UK sales agent of a UK film, to contribute towards the P&A costs across a group of international distributors, with the aim of increasing the film’s circulation, audience size and box office potential. This strand is being piloted in 2022/23.
Separately, the international business development strand is also now open, supporting UK screen content businesses across film, TV, animation and interactive narrative video games to enhance their international activities. Grants are available between £50,000 and £200,000, with funding split into two allocations comprising a film-specific business transformation track and a general international business growth track, open to all screen sectors. The application period closes on October 13.
The international co-production strand is set to re-open in spring 2023, offering grants of up to £300,000 for minority UK feature film co-productions and minority or majority UK TV co-productions.
Three-year extension
The Fund launched in April 2021 as a one-year pilot initiative to boost international development and distribution opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, and has been extended for a further three years, as a £7m per annum fund.
In its pilot year the UK Global Screen Fund made 75 awards totalling £5.2m across all three strands. Thirty-four awards were made in the international distribution strand, including for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Enys Men and Brian And Charles.
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