BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund

Overview

Bringing films to audiences across the UK in a dynamic and original way, the activity supported will demonstrate cultural ambition and encourage audiences to take risks in the viewing choices they make. Your project should be high profile and able to attract national press and media coverage.

For local projects, you can apply for funding through the BFI Film Audience Network.

Fund aims

They want everyone to experience a great range of screen culture. All funded activity must deliver against at least five of the following aims which are listed in the BFI National Lottery strategy outcomes:

people across the UK can access a wider choice of film and the moving image including stories that reflect their lives
an increased profile for independent UK and international film and broader screen activity
a larger audience for independent UK and international film and broader screen activity that is representative of the UK population, achieved through a genuine change in working practices – this could include, for example, new approaches to marketing and promotion, investing in an inclusive workforce that is representative of our population
funding helps to tackle social, economic and geographic barriers for screen audiences in new and effective ways ensuring an increased number of accessible screenings right across the UK to ensure independent UK and international film and broader screen activity is truly accessible to all
children and young people are empowered to develop their own relationships with a wider range of screen culture
screen organisations have significantly reduced their carbon footprint
a broader range of organisations supported by the fund, breaking down historic barriers to funding

Eligibility

You’ll need experience of film distribution, film exhibition or audience development activities in the UK. Experience can include:

marketing initiatives
film festivals
film distribution, including cinema and online
immersive installations and tours
in-venue programmes or seasons
touring projects
in-venue audience analysis projects

Eligibility of your organisation

Your organisation must be a legally constituted organisation centrally managed in the UK that is one of the following:

a limited company registered at Companies House that is not:
- defined as a ‘large’ company under the Companies Act 2006; or
- more than 50% owned by (or a subsidiary of)
  - non-UK resident individuals or
  - a company or corporation owned by non UK-resident individuals or
  - a company or corporation having shares listed on any stock exchange
a community interest company registered at Companies House
a limited liability partnership (LLP) registered at Companies House that is not more than 50% owned by non-UK residents partners or members
a UK combined or local authority or statutory body
a UK charity or trust registered with the Charity Commission

Eligibility of your project

They can support projects of any duration but all activity must be completed by 31 March 2026 unless you have approval from the Audiences team prior to making an application.

You can apply if your project:

takes place in the UK
is for a national public audience and public benefit
starts 16 weeks or more after the time of application
is a new, time-limited activity within or additional to your core delivery – for example, a new marketing approach within a film festival to attract audiences not currently engaging with the festival

Funding can only be used to support projects that:

respond to the fund’s aims
demonstrate cultural ambition and encourage audiences to take risks in the viewing choices they make

Your project should also have specific outcomes reflecting the changes you want to achieve if you receive funding.

You can also apply for smaller awards to support pilot projects which take creative, operational and economic risks in developing audiences from specific under-represented backgrounds and have the potential to grow and reach national audiences.

During the assessment process, they may discuss with you whether it is appropriate to apply for a pilot projects award or a project award to achieve your aims.

Funding level

Funding depends on the timeframe and ambition of your project:

pilot projects – you can apply for a minimum of £10,000 up to £20,000
projects – you can apply for a minimum of £20,000 up to £200,000 per year

They can consider making single or multi-year project awards of up to £500,000 per year but applications for awards over £200,000 will only be accepted for projects which demonstrate exceptional cultural ambition, national profile and scale and are supported by a good range of partners. Awards over £200,000 are rare so they strongly advise that you discuss your project with the Audiences team before making an application for over this amount. 

This fund is highly competitive and you should bear this in mind when deciding what level of award you’ll need to deliver your project and if the scale of request is appropriate for the level of public benefit.

See Guidance for further information.

Eligible costs

You can use this funding for project costs such as:

activities needed to deliver the project, for example marketing or curation
contribution to overheads relating to the delivery of the project
engaging specialist advice, for example marketing, PR, or access associated with the project
accessibility needs, for example subtitles, close captions, audio description, BSL interpreted events, relaxed screenings and marketing materials
professional development spend if relating to the outcomes in the project

See Guidance for further information.

BFI National Lottery funding can only be awarded to projects that have a clear public benefit along with an evidenced need for National Lottery funds.

Expected project achievements

Key Performance Indicators

The BFI will measure the success of the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund using the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

UK-wide targets

percentage of successful applicants from outside London and the South East: 60%
percentage of funded projects which take place outside London and the South East: 100%
admissions or beneficiaries from outside London and the South East: 75%
successful applicants new to BFI National Lottery funding: 20%
total admissions: 6 million

Accessibility targets

accessible screenings (closed captions, audio description, BSL interpretation, marketing materials, ticket incentives or discounts): 50%
relaxed screenings (autism, neurodiverse, dementia or baby friendly): 50%
percentage of projects available online: 50%

Environmental targets

sustainable screen support offered to 100% of awardees each year (based on awardee data supplied by BFI)
minimum 80% of awardees have calculated a carbon footprint using provided tools

Equity, diversity and inclusion

All activity supported by their funding should address the BFI Diversity Standards. If successful, you’ll need to evaluate and report how you’ve delivered against the aims of the Diversity Standards in practice.

Your activity will contribute towards achieving their inclusion targets, which are:

disabled (including those with a longstanding physical or mental condition and those identifying as D/deaf or neurodiverse): 18%
Black and Global Majority (London): 40%
Black and Global Majority (outside London): 30%
gender balance – of those identifying within the gender binary (also monitoring trans and non-binary identities): 50%
sexual identity (other than heterosexual): 10%
working class background: 39%

UK-wide

Their funding supports national, regional and local activity to ensure that communities throughout the UK feel the benefit of the screen industries and culture. You’ll need to tell them where your proposed activity will be delivered and how this will support the BFI’s UK-wide principle.

Environmental sustainability

All organisations awarded funding are asked to consider what it means to apply the principle of environmental sustainability (ES) to the funded activity or their organisation more generally. This could be good environmental practice for the project (for example, travel and events), as an organisation more broadly, or exploring environmental themes as part of the work. They’re not prescriptive about what this should look like, but there are five priority areas that you could focus on in your planning and application: food, energy, transport, materials use and influencing change.

See Guidance for links to resources.

Track grant Notes