The British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled the strategic plans for the expanded UK Global Screen Fund, which is receiving a budget increase from £7m to over £18m per year from 2026-29.
The plans include investment in film sales minimum guarantees; support for animation and documentary majority co-productions; a £50,000 Challenger award for early-stage business development; and development slate funding supporting later stage costs after initial development.
Scroll down for the full areas of investment
The plan has been launched following industry consultation, including an enhanced UK Global Screen Fund Strategic Advisory Group formed of representatives from trade bodies, national and regional screen agencies, and individual practitioners spanning film, TV, animation, documentary and games.
The increased funding was announced in June 2025, as part of the UK government’s Screen Growth Package of £75m funding across the creative sectors.
The next UK Global Screen Fund town hall meeting will take place online tomorrow at 11.00 GMT. Applications for individual funds open to staggered timelines, details of which are available through the BFI.
“The UK Global Screen Fund has already had a hugely positive impact, propelling distinctive British stories like I Swear and Pillion onto the world stage and showcasing the strength of our independent filmmaking,” said Ian Murray, creative industries minister.
“By tripling its annual funding to £18 million as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government is backing the next wave of writers, directors and producers from every corner of the UK. This investment will empower them to reach global audiences, drive economic growth and cement our reputation as a film powerhouse.”
Denitsa Yordanova, head of UK Global Screen Fund and International Funds, said the expansion “allows us to further boost opportunities for the UK’s extraordinary independent screen sector, with enhanced and vital support for international growth and collaboration.”
Expanded UK Global Screen Fund investment
International Distribution
Alongside the existing Festival Launch and Prints & Advertising (P&A) strands, additional funding targeted at UK sales agents and UK video games developers will be introduced via:
- Film Sales Minimum Guarantee, supporting UK sales agents to secure international sales rights for UK films, with the aim of improving the UK sales sector’s competitiveness, and bolstering stronger relationships between UK producers and sellers
- Video Game Release, supporting UK video game developers to mount release campaigns for their games in international territories, through marketing, promotion and localisation, with the aim of increasing circulation and sales potential
International Co-production
Enhancing existing support for minority feature film co-productions and minority/majority TV co-productions in animation or documentary only, the schemes will be formally separated into:
- Minority Co-production, continuing to support feature film (all genres) and TV (documentary and animation only)
- Majority Co-production, launching in September to support animation and documentaries, across film and TV, designed to provide tailored intervention for majority funding
International Business Development
Expanding on current support for UK screen content businesses across film, TV, animation and interactive narrative video games to enhance their international activities, three distinct tracks set to launch in April will provide fewer barriers to entry:
- Transformation, supporting radically transformative business strategies, now available across the whole screen sector, having previously been available only to film
- General, funding business strategies to create, acquire and/or exploit intellectual property (IP), covering all eligible screen sectors, including factual entertainment, for increased international revenue, audiences and profile
- Challenger, a £50,000 award with optional additional mentorship component introduced for earlier-stage screen companies
Development
New funding for development will be added to the range of UK Global Screen Fund interventions, with support for projects with international audience potential offered through:
- Slate Fund, for slates of 3-5 projects (feature-length live action, animation and documentary for theatrical; TV documentary and animation only), supporting later stage costs following initial development
Promoting UK Screen
The international promotion of the UK screen sectors will see all activities consolidated under one combined ScreenUK umbrella, encompassing the ScreenUK Industry physical presence at key international festivals and markets (previously supported by BFI National Lottery funding), plus the digital presence of ScreenUK Industry and the ScreenUK consumer campaign, launched in 2022 to showcase and celebrate UK screen content and talent to global audiences.
A new combined delivery model, for which a procurement process is currently underway, will deliver benefits relating to cost-efficiency, consistency and brand awareness over the three-year programme of external promotional activities. Ongoing, the BFI National Lottery UK Focus Fund will continue to support the one-off delivery of UK-focused activity at established international festivals, markets, co-production forums or other industry events or platforms with international reach dedicated to screen content.
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