Joanna Scanlan and Aleem Khan at the 2021 Bifas

Source: David Fisher / BIFA / Shutterstock

Joanna Scanlan and Aleem Khan at the 2021 Bifas

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifa) has received almost £300,000 from the latest round of British Film Institute (BFI) Audience Fund awards.

The BFI Audience Fund awards funds from the National Lottery. Its key objective is to support projects which boost diversity and inclusivity in audiences, onscreen and in the workforce.

The £297,160 award will support Bifa in its ‘always on’ marketing campaign, running from July 1 2022 to March 31 2023. This includes new ticketing strategies and the continuation of podcast production for younger, UK-wide audiences.

The fund will also be used to support Bifa in delivering its annual awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony is set to take place on December 4, with a shake-up to the line-up of awards, including the removal of gendered acting awards categories.

Bifa was also awarded £18,500 from the BFI Film Fund for talent development in June of this year.

Further BFI Audience Fund awards made in June and July are: £15,802 to Bohemia Media for activities around the release of Queen Of Glory; £39,000 to Picturehouse Entertainment for a talent tour and marketing costs for the release of The Feast; £30,000 to Aesthetica Magazine for Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2022; £50,000 to Edinburgh International Film Festival; £35,000 to Manchester Animation Festival; £50,000 to UK Jewish Film Festival; £28,920 to Aya Films to support the release of The Gravedigger’s Wife; £20,800 to the Watershed Arts Trust for its Cinema Rediscovered programme tour; and £38,000 to support the 2022 edition of Film Africa, the Royal African Society’s annual festival.